This week was my annual optometrist visit. Although my eye condition is irreversible, there are always other things that could go wrong. Past a certain age, and I won’t say what age that might be, it is a good idea to have a regular eye exam. Actual age aside, current thought is that children can and should have their eyes checked at the early age of six months.
Back to topic, in COVID times, I was
hesitant to have any close contact at the optometrist office and so I put off
my appointments. In the meantime, the office staff at my clinic had changed. When
I arrived at the clinic last week, I didn’t recognize the women behind the
counter and they didn’t recognize me. No problem. They could just look up my
file. Turns out that there was a problem. Nobody could find my file. Even
though I assured the staff that I had been coming for my eye exams at the same
place for many, many years, they wanted to start me off as a first time
patient.
Eventually everything was worked out but I
did find the initial asking and answering of personal questions a bit frustrating.
In the end it was the optometrist herself who found the clerical error.
Nevertheless, the whole experience had me
thinking back to some of my previous optometrist appointments. I remembered the
first time I heard the words “legally blind.” I think that my thought processes
just shut down. I had no understanding of how the diagnosis was going to affect
me. It certainly altered the trajectory of my life’s plan.
Adjusting to being legally blind was a
steep learning curve for me. The good news was that as I grew into this new
role, technology was growing with me. I am still learning but the initial
emotional trauma is behind me.
If you haven’t made your next optometrist appointment
yet, I encourage you to do so. While not all eye conditions can be treated or
cured, there are huge advances in the field of vision research. Early diagnosis
is often key to your future eye care and vision health.
