It’s really surprising after one day off from being a Care Partner how difficult it has been to get back into the swing of things.  After a day of mixing with people in control of their thinking, and reasoning, it has not been easy to cope with  someone who does not always have the luxury of such qualities.  A trip to the opticians yesterday afternoon put the issue into focus – if you will pardon the pun.

We have not been able to find Maureen’s spectacles for a couple of weeks.  We have hunted high and low for them without success.  Last week we missed an appointment with the opticians and were fortunate to be able to retook for yesterday afternoon. Things went well as I managed to get us to Specsavers more or less on time, and testing took place on schedule.

Following Maureen’s test the optician called me over and explained an old pair of glasses of hers that I had found  were varifocals and needed to be thrown away. They were promptly despatched into the charity box, and we went on our way. The test had worn Maureen out, so she decided to leave  choosing new glasses until another time.

When we got home Maureen complained that she was feeling dizzy without her spectacles on.  She claimed that she normally wore her distance glasses, and doubted that they had been missing for a couple of weeks.  In retrospect it was probably a mistake to let the optician dispose of the old varifocals, as this may have added to Maureen’s confusion.

One thing for sure we have an answer to Maureen’s dilemma of not knowing how she is going to spend her day.  On most days she simply can’t remember how she used to fill her time.  Well we’ve got a starter for today:  either find her old glasses, or choose some new ones.  One problem solved but I’m sure others may arise as the day unfolds.

Postscript:  We went to bed together at 9.30 pm last night.   I have been up since around 6 am this morning.  Maureen is convinced I didn’t sleep in the same bed her as last night.  Her eyesight is obviously worse than I thought!