Monday, August 30, 2010

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.

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16 comments:

  1. Wow, Bill must have had you there VERY early in order for you to capture all those beautiful photos. And good weather as well, how wonderful for you. Doesn't Bill take any pictures now? Have you managed to upstage him? LOL
    Glad you have no new tears (i.e. rips, not teardrops) in your retina. I now have a retina specialist as my regular opthalmologist so I don't have to drive to Calgary, which some people around here seem to do as casually as I did driving to Vancouver from the suburbs. So far, no retinal problems, thank goodness, and I was a big brave girl when I had my laser surgery on Friday.
    Yes, those of us who have never had perfect vision are very mindful of the vision we do have, and will go to any lengths to keep it.

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  2. To answer your question, Kay … I am, indeed, the main picture taker in the family these days. But I could never top my husband’s photos. As you seem in good spirits, I am glad to deduce your laser surgery went very well. :)

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  3. What marvelous captures! Glad you got to take them before your appointment. I do hope all goes well with you and Bill both!

    Sylvia

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  4. What a great day in the city! There is so much to see. I'm glad you found a cheaper place to park that at the hospital!

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  5. What a wonderful sequence of photographs. I love the mountains that looked like they were floating, the art, the wonderful market, the flowers, buildings and everything you showed us. I hope your unexplained eye issues don't end up being a big problem.

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  6. Thank you for this lesson of life. Please have you all a good Tuesday.

    daily athens

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  7. Me again. Have to say I love the picture in the side mirror. Beautiful.
    I used to park near Vancouver General a lot when Mom had Rob there, and never thought I'd live to see signs on parking meters saying "Pay by phone"!! Phone, it says, not even credit card, or debit card.
    We've come a long way, Penelope, but still no one has invented a robot that looks like Sean Connery and can cook, clean, mow, weed, drive, shop... but people use phones to pay for parking. What's wrong with this picture?

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  8. I'm glad you had time to explore! That fruit got me reeeeally tempted! :-)

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  9. What you see and translate through your photos and words is a gift - I'm glad your diagnosis wasn't too bad. Keep seeing the beauty in the everyday!

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  10. Wonderful shots of the city. I understand you as I do have vision problem from childhood. Take care.

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  11. it looks like you had a great time walking around the city--marvelous photos! glad to hear you got good news.

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  12. Thank you for the grand tour as well as for the mostly good news about your eyes. For those of us who value visual beauty, they are a valued asset indeed.

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  13. Thanks for visiting my site, and sharing your thoughts.

    You had a wonderful series of photos and i like your title the vision of long life.

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  14. Wonderful photos - it's very clear that you abundantly appreciate your world.

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  15. I saw the title and first few words to this post, and felt concerned for you, but you weren't quite ready to publish, and I can see why. You were busy putting together that stunning series of photographs. Several thoughts occurr to me. 1. We have both had some vision challenges, and I share your appreciation for sight, and for the advances in medicine that grant us the opportunity to take in the world around us. 2. We both have a Bill in our lives:) 3. Bill and I had just driven by that "Long Life" street a day or two before you posted, and I had noticed and commented on its name for the first time. 4. I found so many of your photos breathtakingly beautiful, but like Kay, was also especially entranced with the mirror one. 5. Most of all, I wish for you the very best outcome possible as far as your vision goes! 6. Again, like Kay, I noticed for the first time, your childhood photos way down at the bottom right of the blog, and loved that you shared that hint of the development of a thinking person who has observed and written so eloquently about her world. Thanks for a thought-provoking and visually stimulating post!

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  16. Carol, glad you had a chance to stop by and for your good wishes. I know this has to be a busy time for you as a teacher with a new semester starting. It is a coincidence our husbands share the same name. Although Bill is a common name, I think we have two of the best! Also, so strange you were near (and noticed) the Long Life street sign … as I did. I take this to be a very good sign for all of us! Look forward to seeing a new post on your fantastic blog in the near future.

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