I CAN DRIVE AGAIN!!!

Yesterday I had a phone call with some good news. I have been given the all clear to drive again.

I haven't driven since the begging of May as there was doubt about whether I had the required amount of peripheral vision. Special field vision tests for driving came back as 'borderline' so the decision about driving again was up to the Vic Roads Medical Review Board. I will have to have another review in 12 months but for now I am legally allowed to drive.

I was at work when I received the phone call so I had to wait until I got home to go for my first drive. As soon as I got home I got into the car and went for a drive around the streets and then to the supermarket. I still have the CAM boot on my right foot so I just take it off when I drive. It's a bit of a fiddle but a fiddle that I am happy to put up with.

Just knowing that I can drive again is fantastic. I don't know what the future holds with my eyes and if I will always be allowed to drive but for now I can and it's fantastic to have the freedom that being able to get in the car and drive somewhere gives you back.

Spring is here

I can't believe how fast this year has gone. Just in time to welcome in Spring my Weeping Peach and Weeping Cherry trees came out in bloom on the 1st September.

I've had the last four days at home sick with a sinus infection. With all the time at home I've been doing a lot of sewing. I've cut the template for quilting circles on Jake's quilt and started stitching around the first circle. I have finished all the blocks on Hannah's quilt but had to order a bit more material for the boarder and binding. Hopefully that will arrive this week and I will be able to finish the top ready to quilt.

As the tops of the quilts are finished I have now started working on Sarah's. I like to have a quilt that I can take with me when I go out to appointments or to Brink, my craft group. I've cut all the cardboard templates and material so am ready to tack the material onto the templates. I haven't worked with chenille before so am finding little bits of fluff all over me and the couch!

How long is 6 weeks?

I can't believe that it is six weeks ago that I was told that I would have to wait to see the Neuro-Opthomology Clinic at the Eye and Ear Hospital. Back then I was told by a doctor that 'all treatable diseases have been ruled out, that I had a degenerative eye disease and would go blind and that it didn't matter if I had to wait six weeks or six months nothing could be done to help me'

Back then and hearing this news and then having to wait six weeks to for an appointment it seemed like an eternity.

In the last six weeks I've seen the specialist privately and had some tests. Today I got some results and after seeing the doctors I still don't have a diagnosis or a decision about driving however the doctors are now sure that I have some kind of rare disease of my retina. Apparently these diseases are not treatable however they are 'self limiting'. This means that it is unlikely that the degeneration of my sight will continue.

The tests results to determine if I can drive were 'borderline'. I now have to wait for the Road Traffic Authority Medical Review Board to review the results and make a decision.

The doctor told me today that I will need to be patient as getting a diagnosis may take months and there are many more tests that I need to have.

My next appointment and tests will be in about six weeks however six weeks now doesn't seem that long away.

Praying for results today

I can't believe how long it has taken to get a diagnosis. It's been a long and bumpy ride with my emotions going up and down like a roller coaster. I see the doctors again this afternoon and am hoping and praying that today I will finally have a diagnosis and answers to my questions.

I don't think I would have got through the past few months if I didn't have my quilts to help take my mind off the uncertainty of not knowing if I will drive again or if I will eventually loose my sight. Some days I have sewn so much I've made my hands hurt!

Jacob's quilt is looking great. The backing is on and I've been cutting out a template for the quilting. I've decided to hand quilt circles in every block similar to the original pattern. I've never quilted circles so I am looking forward to the challenge.

The other weekend I had my family over for dinner. I showed Jacob his quilt and was delighted to hear him tell his gran nan afterwards that he 'loves his quilt'.

It made me think again and ask myself 'why I am making these quilts?' I am making them for my family so that when I am not here they will have something to remember me by but most importantly I am making them because it is something that I really want to do.

I find a pattern that I want to make and then think of who I'd like to make the quilt for. Making a quilt for a particular person makes it more personal and I find myself thinking about the person so much while I'm sewing the quilt.

Well, I have my sewing bag packed with Hannah's quilt to sew ready for the train trip into town and the long wait at the hospital.

I've been praying for good results but after the months of waiting today I'm praying that I will have a diagnosis regardless of the results.