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EYE TO EYE
Volume 2 Issue 4
Designed by R. Young. Written by C. & R. Young
In or Out?
‘Are you in, or are you out?’
It was bedtime and I was addressing Buffy our 14 year
old black and white cat who was cautiously eyeing the
wide open front door I was holding for her.
Her ultimate destination at night is the utility room,
where she has fresh food waiting in a bowl, and a secure bed well up off the floor. Kitty Nirvana.
they can catch her by surprise. This route is safer, boring even, with little room for excitement or the opportunity to hone her hunting skills.
It took her a long time to decide, but eventually she
chose out. Ultimately, with her character, she will
make the best of either situation, and be happy with
the result. Whatever the ultimate destination, she will
make it her own, because that is what cats do.
That is why she is proud to be a cat.
But there are two possible routes. Either:
She leaves the house via the front door and walks
around the outside of the house to get to the cat flap
in the Utility Room. But then she has to negotiate
with other cats in the area to get safe passage, maybe
fighting off a few and standing up for herself. She may
have a few fights, but she may catch a few treats –
the odd mouse etc. Life outside is more exciting – the
unknown.
Buffy the In / Out cat considering her Exit Strategy
Or
She takes the short cut through the kitchen. Although
this is an easier route, with far fewer potential obstacles she still has to control the boisterous dogs who
inhabit the kitchen. She has them well trained, but
www.cyoungopticians.co.uk
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Your experiences
I received this from Shirley after the last newsletter.
Thank you Shirley for taking the time to share this
with us.
Recognising a Possible Detached Retina
Shirley Barnes, Radstock.
It was 6 pm on Christmas Eve - when all the doctors
were closed - that I first noticed a small crescentshaped shadow in the top right corner of my left
eye. Apart from this tiny "block" I could see perfectly and, it being Christmas, with guests staying and
visits to relatives planned, I studiously ignored the
shadow. About a week later, when I was reading I
could see a definite circle of black floaters turning
anti-clockwise in that eye. Otherwise, no flashing
lights or other visual disturbances, I could still see
almost normally and I was driving, reading watching
tv....
The festive season over and back home, I made an
appointment to see my GP in early January. He listened to my symptoms and declared he was not an
eye specialist but I should go within 24 hours to
46 High Street, Shepton Mallet, Somerset. BA4 5AS
t: 01749 380043
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Christopher Young Opticians in Shepton Mallet as
they had the equipment needed to look at the back
of my eye and to see what was going on. I was to do
this under the ACES scheme, a National Health
scheme whereby GPs can refer to specialist opticians
in the same area.
Luckily I was able to get the long appointment I needed the next day. I was seen by Chris Young himself
who put drops in my eyes and carried out a thorough
check, using a range of equipment. His diagnosis: a
detached retina in my left eye. He made an urgent
referral to Bristol Eye Hospital and my husband drove
me there straight away. I was seen in their A&E department (but one does need the referral), then by 2
other doctors... More eye drops, more specialist
equipment.
put in several times a day and had to wear a clear
plastic shield over my left eye to stop me rubbing it.
My left eye was very bloodshot and I could see little
with it.
Everyone who has an operation for a detached retina has to "posture" in a different position and for a
different length of time: another woman in my ward
had to sit upright - even at night - for 2 weeks. After
the first 3 days I just had to lie on my right side as
much as possible and all night, rest during the day,
and not do any heavy lifting. Make up and face
creams were banned! Two weeks after my operation
I was back at the hospital for a check up and sight
test: I was able to reach the DVLA sight standard
(mainly thanks to my strong right eye) and everything had healed nicely so I was discharged, but I
wasn't to drive or travel by air (danger of exploding
eye!) until the gas bubble had gone from my eye,
which took a further 4 weeks.
I did go back to Chris Young after a couple of weeks
as I was concerned that my eyesight wasn't improving as it should. He was very patient and did a thorough examination, but thankfully my worries were
unfounded. Four months after my operation my
eyesight has changed and I was so impressed with
Chris's helpfulness and the service there that I
switched opticians. My in-depth sight test included a
scan - all fine - and I will now opt for this at every
sight test. I am now the owner of a smart new pair
of varifocals and can do everything as normal.
By this time it was 7 pm, too late for an operation
that night, so I was admitted to a small ward and told
I had to stay lying on my left side to try to prevent the
retina detaching further. By 8.30 am I was in the operating theatre for an operation under local anaesthetic which lasted about 1 1/2 hours. Thankfully it
was successful, with stitching done by laser and a
bubble of gas put in the back of my eye to keep the
replaced retina in the correct position. Back in the
ward, I had to lie face down for an hour, then lie on
my right side for 45 minutes out of every hour, a procedure they call posturing.
This "posturing" had to continue for 3 days after I returned home the following day, which I found extremely inconvenient as the 15 minute break each
hour was just about long enough to swallow a cup of
tea and go to the toilet, or eat a quick meal which my
helpful husband had prepared. I think it would be
very difficult to be on one's own in these circumstances. I also had two lots of eye drops which had to be
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A detached retina can cause blindness. My message
is don't ignore any changes in your eyes, get an
emergency appointment with your optometrist or go
to A&E (one hospital doctor said to me, "They do
have ambulances over Christmas, you know!") And
do have regular sight tests with a qualified optician
who has the equipment to look at your eyes in
depth, such as Christopher Young. The earlier you
get treatment for a detached retina the less extreme
that treatment will probably need to be, and the
more of your sight can be saved.
Editor’s note—thank you Shirley for taking the time and
trouble to send me your experience for publishing.
The Emergency service ACES is available to anyone
who is registered with a GP in the Somerset CCG
area. You do not need to be referred to us by your
doctor, just contact us directly. If you experience
any of the symptoms that Shirley has written about
at the weekend or out of our normal working hours,
go straight to the A&E department at Bristol Eye
Hospital.
46 High Street, Shepton Mallet, Somerset. BA4 5AS
t: 01749 380043
3
Thank you
‘12 acres?’ he asked
‘No, 12 plants’ I mumbled.
I would like to say a massive thank you for the incredible response to our last newsletter. Your ideas are
very helpful and I look forward to following them up
in the near future.
His face fell. I could imagine what he was thinking,
but I won’t repeat it!
I do have to say a particularly big thank you to Joyce
and Alan Hodgson who wrote to tell me that they
have turned their house upside down searching for
groats to help Mary and Tracy live the lives to which
they would like to become accustomed. They are eagerly waiting the results in anticipation of an early
retirement!
Team News
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Happy Birthday Juliet
I had the pleasure of meeting Steven Corfield recently, son of the late Diana Corfield.
Diana was one of our regular clients. She was also a
longstanding member of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis
Association, from before what it is today. Every year
she received an allocation of tickets and very generously she used them to invite guests to eat lunch with
her in the Members Restaurant during Wimbledon
fortnight, and afterwards to watch tennis on both
Number 1 and Centre Courts. She wanted to give people she knew an opportunity they would rarely otherwise have. The only stipulation was that the guests
shared the cost of her meal.
Juliet and her husband Paul recently shared a joint 50th
Birthday Party at The Club in Shepton Mallet. We were
all invited, but only Chloe, Tracy and Mary actually
made it, and had a great night.
Three years ago Rosenn and I were lucky enough to
be added to Diana’s guest list. We had a delicious
meal in the restaurant and enjoyed the people watching. There was the usual mixture of old money, new
money, and, our category, no money, but it was delightful.
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Advert
I sat next to a charming gentleman from Wiltshire. I
forget what was on the main menu, but for pudding I
decided to try the famous strawberries and cream. I
happened to comment to my fellow diner that the
strawberries were not as good as the ones I grow in
Somerset, and maybe I should put in a bid for the
contract next year.
Do you want to get fit, but struggle to get started?
‘Oh!’ he exclaimed, his eyebrows shooting up. His
expression told me that he was rapidly reassessing
this optometrist from the West Country.
It is held every Wednesday (except 22nd June
because of Glastonbury) at Strode College
Sports Centre at 18.30. It's £4 per play on a
pay as you play basis so no commitment.
‘Do you grow a lot?’ he asked, looking out of the window at the throng of humanity most of whom were
eating the same desert as me.
‘12’ I replied.
You can now start gently by playing Walking
Football. It is open to all ages and abilities and
a great way to meet new people, improve fitness and great for recovery from illness and
injury.
We have a Facebook page... A second chance
FC ..
Just turn up. I look forward to seeing you.
Angelo Ruiz
www.cyoungopticians.co.uk
46 High Street, Shepton Mallet, Somerset. BA4 5AS
t: 01749 380043
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Welcome
I’d like to officially welcome all our new clients
from the last month or so:
Emilia Jasnos, Charlotte Barker, Carol
Dauncey, Grace Collett, Mark Burns, Tanya
Jones, Jennifer Osborne, Tim Rust, Michele Exton, Katie-Rose Haygarth, Lyzander GriffithMcann, Lauren Golledge, Kris Pearse, Sarah
Evans, Samantha White, Reginald Carr, Helen
Bridge, Emma Duddridge, Gillian Skinner, Marilyn Edwards, Colin Winn, Nicola Stone, Steven
Padfield, Sara Skirton, Martyn Masters, Steven
Corfield, Charles Smith, Liliana Cembala,
Geoffrey Isgrove, Wendy Roberts, Gunter Hollenstein, Lynda Gauthier, Lilian Coulton, Hazel
Pearcey, David Gibson, Katie Summers, Beatrice Morrison, Tom Boyce, Alisha Boyce.
We are glad you found us.
App now available
I am extremely proud to announce that we now
have our very own App called MySight and it is
available to download from the relevant App
Store. Features include the ability to make appointments, view your prescription and contact
lens specification and updating your personal details.
The app is only available for clients registered on
our system and requires a linking code for it to
work, which you can get by contacting us or by
creating an account on our website:
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Eye to Eye is a monthly(ish) conversation
about life as it looks from the helm of Christopher
Young Opticians…..
I believe in relationships and we really value having
a strong relationship with our customers. This is
our way of being open and showing people what
we’re like.
For regular clients, many of you only come in once
a year or once every two years. So we can go a
long time without seeing you. And a lot can happen
in a year or two, hence we like to keep in touch.
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Online Appointments
You can have access to our appointment system 24
hours a day, and if we are too busy to answer the
phone, which happens sometimes, then you can easily log on and get booked in.
Just follow the ’Book an Appointment’ link from our
website at:
www.cyoungopticians.co.uk
For new customers, as we grow I don’t personally
meet lots of you. This unusual publication is an
open dialogue between us so that you can get to
know who we are as a company. And painful as it
can be, we like to show some of our personality.
We’re not a faceless company.
The feedback is invaluable. I am extremely interested in what our customers have to say. I enjoy
responding to the comments. And finally I enjoy
writing it!
Please send your thoughts and comments on what
we are talking about to:
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[email protected].
A Little Help
We are now able to offer Interest Free Credit over 10
months, so you can pay off the cost of your glasses in small
manageable sums.
Every month I try to rise to the mammoth challenge
of making an “opticians newsletter” a riveting read.
If I’ve failed, in your eyes, to do that, you can unsubscribe by just sending an email to:
[email protected]
Please ask any member of staff for details.
www.cyoungopticians.co.uk
46 High Street, Shepton Mallet, Somerset. BA4 5AS
t: 01749 380043