Doctor Office in Getting my feet wet. Jumping in

Most of the day was spent sitting in the retina specialists office. This is ordeal can take 3 or more hours. It is usually a bit amusing and sometimes entertaining. First you wait in the outer office after checking in for 15 minutes or more. Then they call you through the receptionist door for you to read random letters on the wall, check pressure for glaucoma, and start dilating drops. Next you wait in a “dimmed” room. Just the blinds are drawn today, they usually turn off the overhead light but today it’s on. The average age of these patients is probably late 70’s and their hearing is not as good as it once was so when they call you to the next station they use their outdoor voice. When she called one of the patients back she shouted their name. The patient started crying and was afraid. Her daughter explained, “my mom had a stroke.” She lovingly coaxed her mom to go into the room while her mom kept saying she didn’t do anything wrong. A couple people in the corner are discussing politics. Several people (including me) with smartphone in hand. The really ‘old’ people were looking through tattered magazines or sitting in a meditative state (aka afternoon nap). Someone got called back to see the doctor and gleefully shouted “that’s me!” a man probably in his 90’s with a cane asked “what’s with her? Did she win the lottery?” Someone’s cellphone just announced for the 3rd time “GPS signal lost”.
Finally I got called back to the exam room. There is a high tech chair to wait in. After anther 10 minutes he comes in and shines a light in your eyes. He’s been in D Magazine for the best retina specialist in the area. I do like him and have faith in him. He took my right eye vision from 20/1600 (you read 1600 correctly) to 20/80. So I think I will continue to follow his recommendations. I can’t say I do that 100% with my other health providers, but that’s true of a number of nurses. 5 minutes later I’m in the checkout line and after my next appointment scheduled in 4 months, I’m ushered out a different door than I came in. Today the visit was only about two and half hours. Thankfully my eye is stable and he feels comfortable stretching out the next appointment.

Last updated March 04, 2020