It's now a bit more than a week since my operation, and I am doing well. The first week was very hot, making a decent night's sleep impossible. Good job then that I did not have to work or go anywhere, but spent my time between the settee and my bed, largely resting, blinds drawn, plenty of water to drink and light meals to eat.
The worst of the heat broke on Sunday night, and Monday was already much more pleasant. By Tuesday, it had become almost chilly, and we've had daily showers since then - very good for the gardens and fields, and it shows.
On Wednesday morning, I checked the weather app on my phone and saw that rain was forecast from 11:00 onwards. I decided to go out right after my shower and breakfast, and left the house shortly after 9:00.
The sky was cloudy, which is good for my eyes at the moment, and few other people were out on the fields. I walked for about two hours, at a slower pace than usual; I am not yet allowed to do anything very strenuous and so that was just right for me.
My own doctor examined the operated eye on Monday morning. She is very happy with the outcome and kept saying how well the professor had done it. She said something like "He's really taken great care there", and I replied that I bloody well hoped so - it was my eye, after all! (Of course I did not say "bloody", not even the German equivalent, but we both knew what I meant and had a bit of a chuckle about it.)
Thursday today, and I plan to do a bit of cleaning. O.K. will be here for the weekend. I have seen my sister almost every day this week, and we plan to go to one of the farms here after she has finished work, where they serve food outdoors (without needing a negative test).
And guess what - I will have my first jab on Monday!!
My sister managed to get the appointments for me (follow-up is in August), and here is how it happened: After I have been trying daily for weeks to get an appointment (both on the phone and via the official website), yesterday evening my sister spotted an instagram article of our local paper, saying that the vaccination centre (just up the road from where I live) has had an unplanned extra delivery of vaccine, and was therefore able to offer more appointments than usual. The article said one needed to be quick to grab one of those appointments, and my sister WAS quick!
After it seemed like I was going to be the very last person in this country to be vaccined, I can't believe how fast it happened. It also ties in nicely with my time off work; if I should feel any negative side effects, I won't miss any more work because of it, and I will be fully fine again in time for my next operation.
Sometimes everything falls into place, doesn't it! Here's to big sisters :-)
Hooray for vaccination!! I'm so very pleased for you! Now that you'll have that behind you, as well as the eye operations, you should do something to celebrate this fall. ☺
ReplyDeleteMy sister and I already (sort of) celebrated yesterday by going to an outdoor restaurant for the first time in I don't know how many months. We had ginger lemonade and excellent food, and it was very nice!
DeleteGlad you will be vaccinated - hope all goes fine with no after effects. Your sis is a blessing in so many ways. Knowing your eye surgery is a success is wonderful - just be good and don't overdo things so that the healing goes well.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the upcoming weekend with O.K. I envy you those lovely fields to walk by - all looking so lush at this time of year.
Take good care Meike - have fun.
Hugs Mary -
Thanks, Mary, I will! (Be good, not overdo things and have fun!)
DeleteHugs
Meike
Such good news about both your eye and the "jab" as the Brits call it. I didn't have any side effects with either one. I had the Moderna.
ReplyDeleteI call it jab, too, Nan, but then of course my English is very much Yorkshire-based :-)
DeleteMine will be the BioNtech one.
What good news--about your eye and about getting your first jab! Your sister is definitely a great ally in all things. I am sure the gentle stroll outside was a welcome change after being confined. Seeing all the wildflowers and the greenery happily responding to the rain must have been good for your soul. Hope you and O.K. have a lovely weekend together. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThat walk felt so good! I have been out and about a few times, also to see my doctor and getting fresh groceries in, but those were not walks, only getting from A to B.
DeleteYes I must say it is a good feeling to be fully vaccinated. Glad your op went well too.
ReplyDeleteMy sister said when she had her second jab she felt almost festive.
DeleteA strange time for you, resting, blinds down, too warm to sleep.
ReplyDeleteSo pleased to hear the healing in your eye is going well, operation a success.
The vaccine has come at a good time, when you are off work.
My London sister offered me a First Class return train ticket: Glasgow-London.
As much as I enjoy London I decided against.
The Indian Variant, the London Tube, all those people, the humid weather.
So let us all be safe, and stay close to home.
Your enchanting photos made me think I might venture as far as the Scottish Borders.
Peebles, Dumfries and Galloway, maybe the Cheviot Hills.
The Cheviots are known as the lonely hills, because you can walk there for a day and not meet a soul.
It is the same with the grassy Lammermuir Hills near Edinburgh.
Jack H
Grassy hills sounds beautiful, and walking for a day without meeting anyone can be very soothing and welcome.
DeleteI would have declined the London offer, too; it just doesn't seem right, voluntarily mingling with the crowds when it is not strictly necessary for work or to buy food and so on.
Good news x 2 then, with your own doctor pleased with the outcome of the op + and an appointment for vaccination at last! By the way, my 2nd jab which was not going to happen until 2 August has been moved forward and will also be on Monday!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, Monica; did they say why the 2nd jab has been moved forward? I have been reading/hearing so many differing articles about when the 2nd jab is most effective; some say, 3-6 weeks, others even say 3-6 months.
DeleteMeike, the recommendations here differ between vaccines. For Astra Zeneca (which I got) they suggest 9-12 weeks. However, a bunch of us in my town (around 1500 people, all 65+) who got our 1st jab the last weekend in April, in connection with that got a date booked for No2 14 weeks later. There have been complaints about this and with the "delta" version of the virus now causing extra concern, the authorities in charge decided to move the date forward for this particular group of us. So we'll now get No2 after only 9 weeks instead. (Myself, I never made any personal complaint about the waiting time, as I have no idea what's best anyway. But of course it will be good to have it all over with.)
DeleteThank you for explaining!
DeleteI am so happy to hear you will be getting the vaccination! It is also so good to know you are doing well since your operation and even managed a walk. I bet that walk lifted your spirits! Your sister is really on top of things!
ReplyDeleteShe's the best, Bonnie!
DeleteYes, that walk did a lot for me. I had been in less than a good mood for a day or two, mostly because I had not been sleeping properly when it was so hot.
Good news about the eye. Also good luck with the jab. Even if you have a reaction it soon goes.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tasker! Yes, those I know who have had reactions usually were right as rain again after 24 hours. Only one was flat out for 3 days.
DeleteI'm very pleased to read the news about your jab. I hope that you don't have side effects. I was fortunate to have none whatsoever but then I was told that having side effects showed that the vaccination was working quickly to create antibodies.
ReplyDeleteIt is impossible to know in advance if a person will have side effects; I will just wait and see! But it will, at least from an organisational point of view, be no problem if the first jab should knock me out for a day or two.
DeleteYes. After all these years, the big sister is still holding your hand and helping you out. It seems amazing that it has taken this long to secure your first jab appointment. Frances and Stewart are both 32 years old and had their second jabs today.
ReplyDeleteBig sisters never stop being big sisters, looking out for their younger siblings - even if as we kids we often argued and fought fiercely.
DeleteWe simply have not enough vaccine in this country to go round. I have read that about 40 % of what has been produced here has been exported to the UK.
Congrats on that move on to the first jab and speedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Haddock!
DeleteI'm glad you are feeling better now, make sure you rest, don't start moving around and working too quickly. I had a retina operation when I was about your age and I had to lie down for a month with my eye bandaged. Take care, relax and take it easy. It's very hot here too, about 36° C, but I just heard on TV that Enna has 40°C!
ReplyDeleteAfter my retina operation in 2018, I was staying in hospital for 4 nights and the eye was kept under a bandage for the first two days. It took me four weeks before I was able to work again.
DeleteThis is a very different operation but still takes time to heal, especially as they do each eye seperately within 4 weeks of each other. I was told to remove the bandage on coming home a few hours after the operation and have been without it ever since.
Wishing you well Meike with your recovery from eye surgery and when you have your vaccinations. I've had both mine and was unwell from both for a day or so but that's a good thing, so I'm told. :D
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to get out into the fresh air, I do love wildflowers, poppies & cornflowers really speak of summer don't they? :)
Thanks, Karen! I am looking forward to my first jab tomorrow morning, and hope that I will be fine afterwards, as I have a few activities scheduled for later that day.
DeleteHow was your holiday? It‘s been a while, but I hope you have had a great time!
How wonderful to have a quick sister! Happy all went well with your eye operation too.
ReplyDeleteAnd it amuses me to think that a two hour walk is a short one but of course, it is for you! Take care! Happy 1st vaccination day tomorrow! Do you know what kind it will be? I didn't know until I got mine, it turned out to be the Pfizer one, same as my son got. Richard got the Moderna one. (The Dolly Parton one, I call that one!)
Three cheers for my quick big sister! :-)
DeleteThe two-hour walk was not short, it was just done at a slower pace than what I usually do, to make sure it was not too strenuous for me. And of course walking slower than usual made the route a little shorter than how far I usually would have walked in 2 hours, so you are right, after all :-)
My vaccine will be the BioNtech/Pfizer one, too.