14/12/2025
This week has come with a lot to process, so I thought I’d share a little update.
Let me explain.
On Monday I had my biennial eye check-up. These days are always long ones, filled with flashing bright lights, dilated pupils, and a whole host of consultants and technicians peering into the back of my eye. We decided to make a day of it, so after dropping William off at school we headed into Reading and hopped on the train to Oxford.
The carriage was absolutely rammed, but we managed to find a free table that Chester could curl up under. Shortly after sitting down, a group of women came through and explained they had reserved the seats — but when they saw Ches settled so peacefully underneath, they insisted we stay put and found other seats instead. A small but very kind moment.
Chester can be funny the first time we go somewhere new. He can be extremely strong on his harness and will confidently lead me along despite having absolutely no clue where he is! Because of this, I laid his handle down on his back and took Kath’s arm as we navigated through the station and out to the main road. Once there, Chester took the lead again and we headed into the city centre in search of the Westgate Centre — and, more importantly, a loo.
We had a steady wander around the shops, with Kath popping into Uniqlo for some new tops, before heading up to the Covered Market. I love my coffee and have inherited my mum’s late husband’s espresso machine, which lives beside my desk in the office. At the far end of the market is Cardews of Oxford who stock a wonderful range of single-estate Arabica coffees from places like Papua New Guinea, India and Guatemala. I regularly order beans from them online, so being in town felt like the perfect excuse to pop in and grab a couple of bags in person.
After a little shopping, we stopped for an early lunch — jacket potato with beans and cheese for Kath, and a breakfast bap (sausage, bacon and fried egg in a brioche bun) for me — before heading off to find the bus to the hospital.
We arrived in plenty of time, so grabbed a quick coffee and mince pie in Pret on the ground floor of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust John Radcliffe West Wing, just below the Eye Hospital. Chester has only been here once before — two years ago — but as soon as we walked through the entrance, he knew exactly where he was going and confidently strode off towards the eye unit.
We registered at the desk and settled down to wait for Phase 1: attempting to read the eye chart and having my eyes dilated. To read the chart, I’m given a black plastic holder that looks like a very unimaginative masquerade mask, with a hole to peer through and a flap full of tiny pepper-pot holes. Gone are the days of reading letters freely — unless that flap is across, I can only just pick out a few letters in my peripheral vision if I’m looking in exactly the right direction. Eventually, they resort to holding up fingers and slowly bringing them closer until I can tell how many there are.
Once that’s done, it’s a quick pressure check and then the drops. They sting slightly going in, but the discomfort fades within seconds, and then we’re back out to another waiting area for Phase 2.
Phase 2 is the imaging: photos of the back of my eye and a strange flashing light that scans how receptive the cells are. To get the right shot, I have to look in a very specific place in the camera — always a challenge without central vision. I’m terrible at this because I can’t help blinking, so it often takes several attempts. The quickest solution is for the technician to manoeuvre my head into position and gently hold my eyelid open — something I’m now very used to.
At one point, the technician asked whether I’d prefer to be wheeled across the room or find my own way. As tempting as office-chair racing was — especially with Chester pulling me along like a husky across the Arctic — I opted to swap chairs and set myself up for the scans.
Throughout all of this, Kath sat with Chester on the other side of the room. Ches watched the whole escapade with great interest and got a little agitated when I moved around, protesting to Kath that he should be doing the steering. He soon settled once everything was done and he was back by my side.
Next came another waiting area and the long pause while the consultant reviewed my records and scans. We’d made good time — all the tests were done within about 30 minutes — but the wait to be called in is always longer. They found us a spot with plenty of space for Chester, and we settled in. Having a dog in a hospital is always a novelty, so Ches attracted plenty of attention and questions as he lay calmly by my feet. A young boy sitting opposite couldn’t take his eyes off him.
Eventually, we were called in and given the results. It was a bit of a mixed bag. I’d noticed changes in my sight over the past six months — particularly in bright conditions — so I’d been preparing myself for confirmation that things had worsened. Even so, hearing it out loud is always a shock. The positive is that the changes are still within the expected range, which is something to hold on to.
We talked about ongoing research, including some incredible studies looking at repurposing other eye cells to act as light receptors — potentially life-changing work. For now though, there’s nothing else that can be done beyond eating well and living healthily… so kebabs and ci**rs are officially off the menu!
Even though the news wasn’t as bad as it could have been, having my experience validated is still hard to process. No matter how much I try to cling to the positives, my mind drifts to what this means for the future — often at the most unexpected moments.
It helped to have some distractions later in the week. Tuesday morning brought the final Berkshire Vision board meeting of the year, a reminder of why I love having Chester by my side as he confidently led me from the bus stop, across crossings and through the busy car park to the office.
Wednesday was a quieter day with a free run in the woods, and Thursday brought the Guide Dogs UK Christmas party at the Reading hub. We combined it with more distraction training and Chester was an absolute superstar. Despite lots of dogs around — and the excitement of seeing his fosterer Jane, his old training buddy Luna, and her owner Claire — he settled beautifully. I’m so incredibly proud of how far he’s come over the past few months.
We wrapped up the week with long woodland runs, Christmas tree shopping, more free runs, and a bit of record shopping — ostensibly for other people, but I think a couple of early presents for myself were well deserved after this week!
So yes, it’s been a funny old one. There’s been a lot of reflection, and I know that will continue for a little while yet, but I’m hoping it won’t get in the way of the upcoming Christmas festivities.
Have a great week, everyone.
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