Monday, December 5, 2011

Eye Doctor Trip Is Birthday Downer

Necktie from Abby (our dog)--Yup, that's me on his tie! Woof!  Woof!

I never minded going to the eye doctor because it was painless and I would get new glasses so I could see better if I needed them.  Saturday was Gerard's 59th birthday and he said I should go ahead and make our eye appointments for that day.  The year is almost over so to get the benefit of our eye care insurance, we had to get before the end of the year.

We both got our eyes dilated and had to wear sunglasses because it was a nice sunny day.  The bad news was that on the one test, Gerard flunked!  The doctor said his peripheral vision on the right side didn't exist and referred him to another doctor.  This news did not set well and Gerard's initial reaction was "I just won't go."

After talking to the doctor myself, she said his eyes were healthy but . . . the peripheral vision problem could be something neurologically wrong so "make sure he goes."  The book we read, Left Neglected by Lisa Genova immediately came to mind.

This is difficult to accept, but I told him it was just like if I had said I wouldn't go see the surgeon that our doctor referred me to when the mammogram indicated I had breast cancer.  I mentioned how great it was to have those three months off from work with full pay after my surgery!

Fortunately, I guess that convinced him to go because he said I should make the appointment for the last week of this month when we are off work.  I just hope the doctor isn't taking off that week too between Christmas and New Year's.  From now on, we are not making any more doctor appointments on our birthdays!

People should go to the eye doctor every year because even if you can see, sometimes they can discover other problems from a thorough eye exam, including diabetes for one.  Have you gone this year? 

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8 comments:

Junk Drawer Kathy said...

It was good that you went, despite finding out about a problem. But that's the reason to go, as you said. I never miss an eye doctor, GYN or dentist appt. every year. I have to watch for glaucoma, which has no symptoms until it's too late. Make sure he goes to the next doctor!

Lin said...

It's never fun to go to the doctor--birthday or no birthday. And I'm with Gerard--it is even worse when they find something that warrants more tests. UGH!!

I hope he goes because your eyes can tell you so much about your health. Have it checked out and take care of whatever it is so that you can lead a long, healthy life!

(I like Gerard's tie--that is very cool!)

Ann in the UP said...

We will all be waiting to hear that Gerard obediently saw the specialist for his eye problem. I haven't been yet this year, and thanks for the reminder.

Sandee said...

We go to our primary physician every six months. We go to the optometrist every single year. We have our eyes checked to see if we need new glasses. We don't play around with our health. At. All.

Have a terrific day. :)

Heather's Blog-o-rama said...

I haven't been to the eye doctor because I don't have health insurance and just can't afford to go..but since Gerard CAN go, and you all CAN "afford", I would gently encourage him to go :) :) It's better to go now :) :) I'll be waiting for your post that says that he went to visit the eye doctor. Maybe you all could do something fun afterward? Have a great week. Greetings from the ocean shores of California, Heather ;)

BeadedTail said...

Sorry he got bad news but he better go get that checked out before it gets worse or if it's caused by something else that needs to be fixed! I'm glad he has you making sure he goes!

Sharkbytes (TM) said...

Hope you find out it's something that can be taken care of.

Karen and Gerard said...

We have an appointment for December 27--prayers would be appreciated. We're hoping it was just a glitch in the way the test was done because the first time I took it, I couldn't see the whole bright box so my results were off and had to redo it. Although, Gerard did take the squiggly line test twice and got the same results.

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