22nd October - Pete's eye

Tuesday 22^nd October

On Friday night we went out to dinner at the Islington in Davey Street.  VERY exclusive – posherella, in fact.  Delicious food, sumptuous surroundings, lovely company (James, Bron, Josh, Helen…)

This dinner was part of a sequence of very enjoyable dinners, breakfasts, lunches, and a sleep-over – family and friends have been SO kind, so hospitable.  It is really quite overwhelming, and I have spent most of my time on the brink of tears… I do love my family, friends, and Tasmania so very much…

Cold climate flowers...

But…all of our activity has ground to a halt.  We were going out to dinner on Monday and Wednesday with a few other social/family engagement jammed in between but…

Captain Pete has been laid low.  I am not sure if I said very much about his eye problem, when we were away.  He started off saying, Hmmm…when I look through my left eye, there is strobe lighting.  What could that be?  Then it progressed to, Now it feels as if I am looking through a jellyfish, and then, There is a speedy windscreen wiper in my left eye.  Yes, cause for concern… 

Our Swedish friend Ingvar, said that this was bloody shit (LOTS of things are bloody shit, to Ingvar…) and that he should do something about it immediately.  (Ingvar, a highly intelligent man, is a vet and has a lot of medical knowledge.)

When we got in phone range Pete rang his eye specialist in Hobart who said he should go and see a retina specialist asap.  Not so easy, in between Indonesian islands…But then we got to Bali, and we managed to find an eye specialist in Singarajah, about half an hour drive from our anchorage at Lovina.  We waited around in the clinic, which was open 6-9pm, and FINALLY Pete got in to see a very nice, competent-seeming doctor who looked into his eye with some sort of technological device.  She didn’t hold back.  No problem, she said, looking at him directly.  Only old!

Bloody shit, as it turns out…

So we have been back here about ten days and still Pete has wipers, and jellyfish in his eye.  He did have an appointment for next early November, but he idly wondered if he should maybe see if he could get an appointment with the specialist earlier – this doctor is only in Tasmania on Mondays…

The appointment was at 12.15 and as soon as the doctor saw him it was, basically DO NOT PASS GO!!  He was sent to a retina specialist in Glenorchy, a very competent and impressive young chap called Andrew Jones, who tersely told him that he would see in him his surgery in Salamanca after hours at 5.30 to do some laser surgery.  No ifs or buts…

It took about an hour and poor Pete came out looking very pale and wobbly.  Dr Jones told me my job was to do Pete’s “posturing.”  So what does this involve?  Well poor Pete HAS to lie on his left side for 45 minutes out of every waking hour, and every minute of his sleep time.  His left side is not his favourite and his shoulder is aching already… He has to keep his eye hydrated and this is the only way.

I have become Pete’s torturer… My iPhone is on constant 15/45 minute timer and even when I went out to see my Mac 101 man (wonderful Gary Waterson) at 1.00 I kept texting him when my alarm went off.  Fortunately Pete is taking it all very seriously.  What has happened so far he has described as being like having his retina spot-welded back onto his eyeball… ouchy!!

He has an appointment to see Dr Jones Friday morning and if the spot-welding hasn’t worked he is up for some major surgery….

All I can say is – thank goodness we came home early, thank goodness he happened to go and see the doctor who happened to be in Hobart that very Monday…Neither Dr Burgess nor Dr Jones held back re the seriousness of this condition… Pete’s retina is badly torn and he is very lucky still to have sight in this eye…

Ingvar and Seija

I am going to send an email to Ingvar telling him that he was right, and he won’t be at all surprised!  I told you it was bloody shit, he will mutter…