Thursday 24 January 2013

arriving home, millies cookies & a hospital trip












On Monday morning, Mark & I woke up to heavy snow on the Wirral! So we were quite worried about our journey on Monday night. However, we braved it and thought well we will stick with our original plan, and headed to Liverpool for our 7.50pm train to Nuneaton. Luckily, our train was only a teeny bit delayed in getting us there, and was running perfectly fine! We were very pleased to have arrived safely in Nuneaton, as we really didn't know if we were going to make it, it was a relief. It was lovely getting home, and our dear friend Lynn collected us from the station even though she doesn't like driving in the snow, so thank you Lynn!

On Tuesday morning, I walked with mum to take Indigo to playgroup. The snow is so much thicker here than it was on the Wirral, and everywhere is covered. Our road is particularly bad, as the gritters never do it! Tuesday afternoon Mark & I travelled to Leicester to go to my appointments in the balance center. It was very funny in the waiting room, it was full of elderly people, and nobody could hear very well! Listening to some of the conversations was very entertaining. One lady got fed up of waiting at the desk, had a rummage and helped herself to some new hearing aid batteries before leaving!! We were quite early, so it was about 40 minutes before I was called.

Start of huge health update essay...
First off, I had more hearing tests. It was longer than the usual ones, and the earphones were getting uncomfortable with wearing the two sets (one that sits on the ear, one that sits on the bone behind the ear). Now for what should be the fun part! The CDP (or Computerised Dynamic Posturography) test. It involves being harnessed in to what is like a little cubicle without a door. My feet were positioned in two rectangles, with my ankles lined up with a sensor. Each element of the test is repeated 4 times (I guess this is to obtain averages!). The floor beneath my feet moved in different ways and directions, and the walls moved too, in some kind of organised manner. The aim of the test was to remain upright, without moving my feet. I fell around 5 times, but the doctor and the harness caught me! It was a very weird sensation, and there were many more times that I felt the urge to fell but didn't. Mark told me afterwards that throughout parts of the test I was leaning further towards the right each time. He commented that the test looked weird, but intriguing enough to want a go! One of the tests requested (VEMPs) couldn't be carried out, due to the machines being down. After a little wait, finally was the worst part of the testing, ENG (Electronystagmography). The first part wasn't so bad, it involved sitting/lying in various positions wearing a highly technical pair of what were essentially goggles. I had to follow lights with my eyes without moving my head, look in different directions and hold it whilst the visor was down (so it was completely dark and I couldn't see). My least favourite part was the Caloric testing. I had read that it was done using water, but in my hospital they used air. During these tests, the visor on the goggles was down for the entirety, so I couldn't see anything but was supposed to maintain looking straight ahead. First up, the doctor blew hot air into my left ear for maybe about two minutes, then I assume she was monitoring my eye movements for the few minutes following, where I was to look ahead whilst counting in my head to keep me concentrated, rather than thinking about the dizzy feeling it provoked. After a few minutes, a little light was shone that I had to concentrate my eyes on for a short time. That wasn't so bad. I had a little break whilst she wrote some things up, and then it was the same again in my left ear. Except in my left ear, it hurt unbelievably! I thought my ear was going to explode, it seemed to go on forever!!! My ear hurt for the rest of Tuesday, and for the majority of Wednesday too. This was followed by cold air in each ear separately, and again, it was worse in my left ear but not as bad as the hot air. I was very relieved when it was over!!! The air being blown into my ears did provoke dizzy feelings, but they passed quite quickly. The reason for this test is to test each side of the balance system individually, by stimulating the inner ear with the air. I have no idea what the outcome of any of these tests was, and won't until I see my consultant at the end of February. I'm very intrigued to find out what these tests determine, and hopeful that I will get some help with my problems.
...end of huge health update essay!

Afterwards, I didn't feel so bad except for a bad headache and a sore ear, so we went into town to get loads of Millies cookies and catch the bus home. We had vouchers for Millies, so we got two boxes of 12 for the price of one (£6.49), and we got four dips, 2 chocolate and 2 toffee, for the price of three (75p each). We chose equal amounts of white, dark, and milk chocolate cookies. They really are the best kind of cookies!! The twins and Indigo enjoyed them, as did the rest of us :)

3 comments:

  1. those tests sound mental! i hope your head and ear are feeling better! also, i never knew millies cookies did dips, looks so yummy. x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, test and doctors offices in general aren't fun :(
    I hope everything turns out okay though.
    I too am surrounded by freshly fallen snow today, but I am guilty of not really enjoying it.
    These pictures are inspiring me to take appreciate it as much as I can during my walks to class.
    x

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  3. I really hope for the best with your health, Hannah...will be thinking of you and sending good wishes your way. x

    Oh my goodness, those cookies look like the greatest thing I've ever seen! yummm! The whole dipping sauce is not something you see too often with cookies over here so that is a bit new to me but looks absolutely delicious!

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Thanks for your lovely comments! I try to reply to them all :) x