A big welcome to Carole Brooke, new secretary of Friends of Bristol Eye Hospital.
Carole has taken over from Dinah Harrison, who had been the secretary for the past XXX years.
As a retired Practice Manager running a busy GP surgery, Carole has had plenty of experience of being highly organised and having to get things done within tight timescales!
Carole explained that she was asked if she would like to become a member of Friends of Bristol Eye Hospital following what she describes as a “very scary incident” involving her eyes.
Remembering how grateful she had been for the amazing skills, care, and attention of the staff of the hospital after the incident, she immediately said “yes.”
As Carole explains, “You only realise just how precious your sight is when something happens that threatens to take it away.”
Carole had complications following operations for detached retinas that were thankfully successfully repaired.
“It was a very risky and worrying time, and after the operations I had to undergo the procedure known as ‘posturing’ that allows the healing to take place. For five days I had to lay face down for much of the time, able to just to move or sit up for only fifteen minutes each hour,” she said.
As an active person, who enjoys playing golf and much else, Carole says that this was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do.
(The reason for having to do this is explained below).
Being hugely grateful for all the skill and support from everyone in the Bristol Eye Hospital – who as Carole says are all so dedicated to retaining as much of your sight as possible – made Carole realise that she wanted to help future patients, as well as the staff, so she joined the Friends of the Bristol Eye Hospital charity, soon becoming a trustee and now the secretary.
