Life at present!

What can I say? We have all been through a massive change to our normal lives, and continue to do so. I hope all our patients, staff and their families are keeping safe. For me, it has been strange, suddenly going from a normal day of work, to closing shop the next day. The information and advice trickled through, so we have adapted the way we work accordingly. I have been answering calls and giving advice over the phone, and also seeing some of you who have needed essential eye care. It saddens me that I can no longer engage with you in the normal fashion. When I am in the practices, everything is wiped down from door handles to surfaces, keyboards and card machines. I wear a mask and gloves, have hand sanitiser available, and it's great to see those of you attending wearing masks also. I feel extremely fortunate to have such wonderful patients, who are so understanding to the way things have changed. I've had some great chats with some of you over the phone, have been making up and posting out glasses and contact lenses and also delivering some personally (leaving them on the doorstep of course!). In some cases I have detected sight threatening conditions, and been able to manage accordingly with ophthalmologists' advice, so preventing unnecessary visits to hospital.

It has also meant spending more time with my family, my two boys keeping me busy with homeschooling, football in the garden, lego and baking (I make a mean butter icing now!). I know for many of us, we have been separated from our families, not wanting to risk the health of our loved ones, and this must be one of the most challenging aspects of this crisis. We seem to be making small steps to a new normal, so I hope that we can all see each other again soon. In the mean time, stay safe, and if you have any concerns about any eye-related issues, please don't hesitate to call and I will do my best to help.