I like my optometrist – she is a dear friend I’ve know for years – so not being able to visit her easily (we’ve had a baby, she’s had a baby) just makes the whole optometrist-visiting thing a bit of a lament. I really prefer to have that ongoing relationship with all my healthcare professional!

Well, 4 years has been far too long, especially with the massive amounts of reading on paper and screen during college. At the recommendation of a friend I booked myself for an appointment with Specsavers Eastgardens.

Pros

• the equipment is top notch
• the optometrist is competent, efficient and understands patient needs very well (she also under-prescribes, which is the eyecare philosophy I prescribe to also)

Cons

• unfortunately the optometrist is not a permanent staff – which is a shame as I have to look for someone else more stable to have that ongoing doctor-patient relationship I prefer
• the whole $199-for-2-pairs deal are good if you think glasses are fashion accessories, but the build quality and finishings of the frames are noticeably shabby to any spectacle-veterans (the $299-for-2 range starts to get acceptable, and $399-for-2 range is good)

I really only need 1 good pair, so I don’t think its economical to buy at Specsavers because their business model is geared around buying 2.

So say if I buy only one pair from the $399 range, it would cost 75% i.e. $300 for the frame, and then add the upgrade for high-index lenses, I think the total price would be comparable to most other optometries.

Apparently you can order glasses online cheap because its made and shipped from places like Hong Kong. I wonder if thats worth the potential risk – a pair of glasses is more personal than even clothe …

http://www.hu.id.au/zenphoto/2010/2010_02_Micaiah/

http://www.hu.id.au/zenphoto/2010/2010_01_Micaiah/

(It made me realise how little ‘buffer’ I have, both in terms of the external i.e. time, and the internal i.e. capacity to write a talk under pressure).

So, caffein becomes necessary when buffer is low, and store-bought coffee is one of those nice treats which helps to keep going.

• Hungry Jacks. Yes, controversial choice; if you are going to buy coffee why buy it from a fast food place? Well, mostly because cafes don’t open at 7:30am on a Sunday morning, and coffee can come as part of a meal. Nevertheless, Hungry Jacks coffee is very drinkable! I didn’t expect that either, but it wasn’t half bad at all.

• Mochi Dessert Cafe in Kingsford. Newest cafe on the block in what is clearly a resurgence of cafes opening up on Anzac Pde. In recent months ABCafe and Papa Joes Cafe opened, and the newcomer Mochi beats both and all the old establishments. Their Allpress coffee comes out of the Lamarzocco piping hot, rich but not overpowering, and leaves no sour note afterwards. Definitely worth the $3.

We took Micaiah to Emergency yesterday evening when he woke up screaming – clocking a temperature of 39+. This was after a day of coughs (that led to vomiting), high temperature, diarrhea and refusal to eat/drink.

Later we verify that its croup – a viral infection that primarily effects the airways causing breathing difficulties. The pamphlet said (rather cryptically) that croup  ‘can quickly become serious’  – I am glad we didn’t wait around at home and find out what that might mean.

So, a night/morning of firsts:

• First time we force fed him 15ml of hydrolyte every 15 minutes using a syringe. It pains me to see him at his most distraught, and still forcing orange liquid into his mouth.
• First time he had a xray, whilst I held him down on the table wearing a lead apron.
• First time we all slept (at least try to) in the hospital as the doctors monitored his breathing. He was discharged at 3:30am this morning.

It dawned on me last night as I slipped in and out of consciousness on the chair beside the hospital bed that this in all likelihood won’t be the last time in our parenting careers =)

Thank God he is better now – the virus is still there (along with the vomiting and the diarrhea), but the fevers seem to have subsided. At least he is getting some milk in him, and hopefully the medicine will help him through tonight.