Today our adventure included Sienna’s first visit to a hospital. We were there to support a colleague who asked for a little assistance.

The day started like any other. A windy trip to work and then Sienna relaxing in the office while I worked. Or in this case Sienna looking through the interior glass to the corridor on the other side and loosing her bone down the side of her bed!

I have been teaching nursing for over 11 years now. While I still have good friends working in ED, Ambulance and am responsible for students in these areas I am one step removed. At the conclusion of our meeting we went to liaise with appropriate staff about the outcome and I was struck by a change in vibe of the health care system in general.

One thing about being a Guide Dog Team (or handler in my case) is that people will interact more than they did prior. No one approached me to talk when I just used a cane but now I work with a Guide Dog people always ask questions and want to interact.

I noticed many of the staff just watching us. Some smiled others said hello. What struck me was the change in demeanour when they saw Sienna. As it transpired I had her sit and stay still and later let go of her harness so that staff could interact. It ended up being that staff came from other departments to see Sienna and we were told by multiple people that we had made their day by being there and allowing interaction on a tough day. The photo below is of three nurses from different departments crouching with Sienna (I have all of their verbal permission to post this photo).

One Charge Nurse asked us if we could go to the other end of the department and to paediatrics to make their staff’s day.

This got me thinking, just how easy it was to make the day of so many staff in the health care systems by having a service dog say hello during their shift. It made me reflect on my distance from the front line in education.

We hear in the media that the health staff are running on empty, short staffed and they just keep on going. I have friends who explain this often. For me I don’t have the lived experience in the current climate. The Keep Calm and Carry on mantra that is embedded in our workforce appears to have a different meaning and context now. It is hard to imagine being even more short staffed and tired we were over 10 years ago when I was part of the ED and Ambulance front line of healthcare workers.

This made me question what it would take for people to feel valued in their work in the current climate. I am not going to start a discussion on pay, hours, short staffing and workload or ratios. But would like to acknowledge the impact of these things have in the resilience and fatigue of healthcare workers.

To have such an impact on 10+ people just by having Sienna with me while I had a meeting at the hospital. The smiles, the interaction and being told just seeing her made their day, makes me realise just how empty the cup is for some workers on the front line and how little it takes to make a small difference.

While this is a Band-Aid and not an ultimate solution I challenge health employers to consider the impact of our health climate and devise small things to “fill the cup” of healthcare workers. If Sienna had that much impact imagine how much of a difference many small things like this could make.

In issuing this challenge I want to make it clear that small gestures like this are not a substitute for a solution and bigger changes to support our health workforce are also required.

For the last two weeks Sienna and I have been on a mission. That is to find a particular pair of specialised mountaineering sunglasses to replace the ones that are missing.

First I will explain the background and reason for these particular sunglasses and then move on to the adventure Sienna and I have been having to acquire these.

As my eyesight has worsened I have become more and more susceptible to glare. To make the most of my remaining vision reducing glare is imperative as it increases visual fatigue.

One thing I was not expecting as my vision worsened was the level of visual fatigue just doing everyday tasks would cause. As a result I ration what I use my vision for to be able to continue working and being a productive member of society. For example this may be spreading reading out over a work week and ensuring breaks. Not doing hobbies that require vision on the weekend to ensure I have the energy to function for the work week.

Managing glare is a big part of managing visual fatigue. For this reason I have asked for an office away from windows and filtered the lights in my office and have been known to occasionally wear my sunglasses inside when glare is a problem.

Finding the best sunglasses to manage glare is important. They need to cut out enough light to be comfortable (decrease pain which brightness causes) and yet allow the right amount of light in so that I can use the vision I have. It is a fine line and because of this I have tried many sunglass brands.

There are two brands which I find the best, Maui Jim and Julbo. Both are expensive (these days over $200 NZD) and not always available in New Zealand. Maui Jim sunglasses have served me well, however, lately I have found the glare around the edge of any glasses (wrap around included) problematic, along with this, I need a particular dark shade of brown lens to see the best.

Julbo offer side and top shields as well as lenses that are designed for mountaineering which have worked well for me. The glasses that are missing are the original Julbo Explorer 2.0 spectron 4 brown.

There are two shops in New Zealand that stock these to try on (others are online only and have very limited stock). Living Simply in Newmarket and Shoe Science in Albany (both in Auckland where I live).

Last weekend Sienna and I braved Newmarket. It is the first time Sienna and I have been to Newmarket without friends in toe to help and on a Saturday no less. Having a friend there gives Sienna someone to follow which makes navigating crowds easier for us both. To get from Hillcrest to Newmarket took us on two busses and a train (along with several hours in transit). The photo below is of Sienna looking rather unimpressed as I had asked her to sit (which she did) and get under the seat (which she didn’t do) instead she insisted on sitting glaring at me with her tail in the aisle.

This was the first time Sienna and I had travelled on a train together and she did a fantastic job.

At Living Simply I was able to find the same model of sunglasses. However, when I tried these I found that they had changed the frame size. While the originals were large frames and well ventilated they were a pre 2022 version that fitted me well. The new version has a slightly different frame and is just too big.

There were two other options. However, both were designed for men and were also big which meant a lot of light could get around the edges.

This weekend I was still on a mission to locate said sunglasses. I phoned the Albany Shoe Science who said they had some of that brand for me to try on in women’s sizes. This meant a trip on three busses with a walk to get there.

After three buses and a short walk we arrived at the shop in Albany only to find that they had one pair of child glasses and some empty boxes of that brand and would no longer be stocking these. This was rather disappointing so Sienna and I checked out all of the other shops which may have had similar sunglasses in Albany no avail.

I took some video of us on the buses and walking around the shops which i will include below. However, it is worth noting that I have edited the video to remove all of the people in some parts and only show their legs in another part to maintain privacy. There is a voiceover recorded on the video.

So our mission to find particular sunglasses was a flop. However, we have managed unknown and crowded areas well. We were both incredibly tired after being out for the majority of the day. Sienna ate and then curled up in her blanket fort with her favourite stuffed today (picture below).

Sunday has been quiet for us and after the long day yesterday we had coffee with a friend. Between the thunderstorms Sienna and I spent some quality time at the beach where she was able to sniff and run out of harness (aka be a dog).