Visions Of A Long Life

LONG LIFE is what we all wish for knowing it is more possible when health is at its best. As questions of wellbeing come up, visits to Vancouver General Hospital and its enclave of buildings dealing with specific health issues seem inevitable. This includes the UBC Eye Care Centre near where the “Long Life Pl” street sign is and where my husband drove me to doctor appointments.

To get there, we went over the Oak Street bridge from where I saw a distant coastal mountain that looked much like an island floating in the clouds.

We arrived early so had time to explore the neighborhood.

First we had to park the car, however, which is expensive near the hospital. The cost is about $15 for two hours. Since appointments sometimes take longer due to minutes (even hours) of waiting for doctors behind schedule, it gets pricey. We were lucky to find a parking lot that charged a mere $12 for the day.


Enjoying the sights, we discovered Vancouver City Hall just a few blocks from the hospital buildings.

There were lots of pretty flowers along the way. These Impatients are often the first to arrive in summer and the last to leave.

We saw modern architecture mingling with older buildings.

Of course, there is always new construction going on downtown.

Incorporating older and newer buildings works nicely in areas such as this where two distinctly different looks created the appealing City Square Mall.

Inside the mall there were many shops to explore and places to eat.

Prized fruit from local BC farms were displayed like works of art.

There were bouquets and plants of all sorts that begged to be taken home.

Mannequins tempted passersby with their charming outfits.

When I entered the building for my first appointment, I found many artistic renderings covering the walls. This portion of a work by BC artist Peter Winterhalter-Aspell, painted in 1987, gave me a bit of a fright.

My photograph does not do justice to this gorgeous painting by Maria Sammarco donated to the Eye Care Centre. It gave me a lift as I went through various tests that took hours to complete, including a fluorescein angiogram. In the end, I found good news mixed with inconclusive results.

I walked to the car under an archway of trees appreciating all the wonders around me. Although it's unlikely I have blocked vessels in back of my eyes, I am left with some unexplained issues. But thankfully there have been no new tears to my retina or new floaters. Having had poor vision since childhood, my ability to see the world is valued beyond treasure.

In the mirror, I saw the sun trying to break through as we headed home. I looked past the clouds and was thrilled to simply enjoy the view.

Explorers can discover more sites from around the globe at My World.