These photos were all taken yesterday on a day trip to Bristol with Niall. I had a medical appointment at the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI), and we planned to follow that up with a shopping trip to IKEA.
We left home about 9:30 am, but first Niall had to open the car doors for a while to let the heat out.
There was a bad accident on the road leading up to the motorway, so we had to follow a detour. I'm glad I wasn't driving as the detour took us along narrow roads where it was necessary to reverse to a passing point when we met oncoming cars. The photo is blurry as Niall didn't grasp the concept of slowing down for me to take a photo!
On the motorway and heading towards Bristol, slightly later than planned but we had plenty of time so we're not worried about being late for my appointment.
There is very little parking at the BRI so out-patients and visitors are asked to park in the Cabot Circus car park and catch the free shuttle bus to the hospital. So that's what we did. We parked up, found the bus stop for the shuttle bus where thankfully there was a bench, and waited ... and waited ... and waited. In the end we gave up and booked a Uber ride!
We'd planned to arrive at the hospital earlier than needed so that we could have a meal before my appointment. Nil points for presentation but the actual food was very tasty. Niall had chili and rice and I had macaroni cheese, both meals served with a side salad.
Then it was time to make our way to my appointment. We followed instructions on how to reach the correct unit, which mentioned crossing the 'balloon bridge'. This made complete sense when we reached the bridge, which celebrates the Bristol Balloon Festival with a delightful mural showing all the hot air balloons. Here's a section of the mural ...
We found the correct unit. My appointment was with the Sleep Study Unit, to be issued with a CPAP machine.
It was a group session for six people who had recently been diagnosed with sleep apnoea. During the session we learned about the causes of the condition and what we could do to improve things - the usual lose weight, don't smoke, reduce alcohol consumption and interestingly, sleep on your side rather than your back. Then we could choose the type of mask we wanted to try, depending on whether we breathed through our noses or mouth during the day. I'm a nose breather so I had the choice of head 3 or 4 and I opted for No 4.
We then learned how to use the CPAP machine and tested the masks for the first time. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting! The instructor came round and made sure that everyone's mask was sealing properly, and then once we were happy that we could manage alone at home, we were able to leave with our machines and masks. The whole session took about forty minutes.
Then it was time to head back to the car park and collect the car. We had to book another Uber ride after waiting for ages as the shuttle bus didn't turn up again. We collected the car and headed to IKEA, which is about ten minutes drive away. I had a long shopping list of things I need (need, not want!) but all the wheelchairs that IKEA have available for visitors were in use and I was too tired and in too much pain to walk, so we abandoned the idea and decided to call it a day. When we go back I'm insisting that we take my own wheelchair with us!
KFC is next door to IKEA so we stopped off for a burger and chips, and to use their toilet, before driving home.
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