HELLO

The best eye surgeons use a laser now.  The eyes are numbed and the procedure is quick and painless.

My wife has just had the laser treatment fo both eyes and hopefully its all gone well . she can see a mige winking at 50 yards, but needs glasses to see the book in front of her . ( As forecast).

Do however appreciate the needle in the eye is totally different and more scary.

She'll need reading glasses, but can pass her drivers license vision test with ease.

   In some cases, the're may be limits to Lazik. I heard someone say...."do you want to see near or do you want to see far"? 

Jamie I could tell you a story of my wifes ambition to change her UK driving Licence to French .its off topic here , and its an unresolved tale of incredible circumstances .

With Rons OK Im happy to give a summary ! 😭

Ahh!  The pleasures of international bureaucracy ...

  Go for it bonom...

That's comforting to know Ron. I have glaecoma and need laser surgery. Hope they will put me to sleep!

not as much as you might think. 

i remember jamie's posts from years ago and still think (s)he is a troll.

i remember you banning me for something that was subjective. 

call me callous, but i have little regard for those that come here and talk about their health issues as if it removes past posts.

for example,

i had a detached retina where i had numerous surgeries. many were as you describe where i saw the needle going into my eye. then surgery was a vitrectomy. then i had cataract surgery. couldn't focus for a few days. then i had an operation on my wrist where i couldn't use my arm for months (a tenosynovectomy). then i had a foot injury...

this all happened in the last ten years, while i was here on this site. this is the first time i have mentioned what i've been through and it's because i don't think it should matter in discussions on this site. i'm not going to think someone's opinion matters more if they have been through what we have. it's still opinion.

none of the health issues are considered when we are reading posts. it appears that you and jamie have softened some of your stances due to said health issues. you must understand that some of us other longtime members have memories!

if you are able to get laser surgery where glaucoma is taken care of, jump at it! otherwise, the regular visits of having a needle put in your eye is just awful. 

good luck to you. 

My wife reaches her 70th birthday in late November this year. She has a UK licence and as is the norm it has to be renewed . As we are currently living in France she has to have a French Licence .

So   in March  2019   she duly completed all the forms and sent them to the Licence centre in Nantes.  With the knowledge of the UK leaving the EU we wanted to act early .

We heard nothing but understood there was a delay .

In February 2020  all the documents were returned , nothing had been done and we were told to apply nearer the due date .  

Then covid came along , lockdowns , staff shortages , etc .  One of the forms we need was from the UK , and the original had now expired so we had to get another .

The Driving agency in the UK was on a reduced staff  with the lockdown , and also went on strike for a while . We got the new form in December 2020 after many phone calls.

January brought Brexit, and more covid.   Then the French Government said it was refusing to change UK licences to French as the UK was not exchanging French Licences.

This spat was not resolved until August 2021 but in the meantime the numbers of people wanting to exchange was growing, and some had licences expired and cant drive.

On September 2nd   we again sent all the docs , explaining my wifes licence expires at the end of November .    We telephoned to ask for help and were told it would take 9 months !

Through a friend ( and Ive got to be a bit vague here ) we managed to contact a person in power who could ask for this to be prioritised.   Within a week we were contacted .....they were looking at it , but one photocopy was unclear ( sent via pdf)  could we send a copy .

We did so , but then found out this week the site was down with a bug so we dont know if it was received . 

Yesterday the site said the file was being looked at but that didnt confirm all forms had been received or in fact were acceptable.

So    as of today , after 2 years and ten months my wife is in the situation where on November 25th  she cant drive , as the Insurance wont cover her.

There must be thousands of brits here in the same situation as everyone of them living now in France has to change the licence by December 31st 2021. 

Thanks France. Thanks Brexit. 

( I have a French licence )

   Jesus Christmas Petit.....   You & the Mrs deserve a Medal for THAT degree of patients. 

Thanks Al, I will.

I do actually agree with you about me. While I tried to remain fair, neutral and still abide by the rules set by those above me, not all of my decisions were good defining moments. I made my fair share of f*** ups while working here, ones I should've realised and apologised for at the time.. hindsight isn't always obvious and apologies years later are likely mute/worthless or empty words. I can't take back or undo the mistakes I made, and I'm not one too use excuses too excuse mistakes made.

I only mention my health nowadays as I keep getting asked how I am.. I don't want to lie by saying "I'm ok", as a day will come where I can't log in anymore, because I literally can't see the text. My computers are out of commission so I only rely on my phone.  But, for want of "better late than never", I am sorry.

WOW, Petit! I've always been a francophone but not a fan of French  bureaucracy. I voted against Brexit and am saddened by the present poor relations between our 2 countries

Pam its all hype and bluster.

The UK want to divert from the budget and Brexit problems , the French have an election next year and want to look tough.

Yesterday the UK Office for Budget Responsibility stated the effects of Brexit will be twice as bad as the covid .   Note how many newspapers headlined that!

The French press headlines havent mentioned the fishing spat at all.

About time our elected leaders put their big boy pants on, Petit! AND our media tried some impartial and factual journalism!!!

Nine months to process paperwork!!!???  Only in France.

You don't need paperwork to invade the US.  Come here, Biden let's anybody in.

   It can take up to a yr to get on Social Security Disability.    BTW,  as OP I don't mind the political talk....everyone here is over 90.    Recently, some women were asking about my social life.....