7/17/2020
Sunny and cool, It was a pants day and I was relieved. I had to go out and wanted to have as much coverage as comfortably possible. One leg at a time I made my way to the T. I was going to have my retinas examined. Seemed safer for everyone for me ride the train with a mask than drive my car while dilated.
It was originally scheduled as 2 appointments. Glaucoma and Retina. Start with the imaging, read the eye chart, check the pressure, dilate the pupils. Bright lights and magnifying glasses. Update the eyedrops. See you in 3 to 6 months.
Corona cancelled Glaucoma but, Retina was essential.
Disappointing to me. 3 glaucoma surgeries since the Summer of ’17, I was looking forward to seeing the Glaucoma Doctor. I used to go there 2 or 3 times a week and appreciated the familiarity. Sometimes the doctor would call me on my walk home as I was trying to read stop signs and license plates. Onetime my eye pressure was too high and I needed laser surgery that night. Too much fluid in the back of eyeball and she'd laser it to turn off the faucet. “What are you doing tonight?” she had asked. I told her that I had pork chops defrosting and my plan was to have them for dinner. She gave me a curious look as she scheduled the evening surgery at Mass Eye & Ear. “You’ll need a ride home, nothing to eat or drink, arrive an hour before surgery...”. Yup, yup, yup. “Will it hurt?” I asked. She said I’d feel it, that the laser would be "hot enough to fry a pork chop”. This was the right doctor for me. At the follow up visits she’d ask the standard questions: how's the vision, any pain, new floaters, flashing lights? And then “have any good pork chops?” I like to think medical charts have a “Hobbies & Interests” section to help the doctor on the personal side of the relationship. And I like to think the hobby listed for me is “defrosts pork chops”.
This day was just the Retina. No chops. I was called in from the waiting room. It was dinnertime and my table was ready, "Greg” the technician routinely said as she waved me through. The machine in the imaging room is like the periscope of an old Atari video game. Eyes wide open and follow the target. Talk to the technician about the virus and baseball. She laughs at my old iphone and helps me with an app for virtual glaucoma appointments.
I read as much of the the eye chart as I can and get the pressure checked. “Look forward” said the tech. “Thats also life advice.” Before I can roll my eyes at her one-liner she says “blink” and drops in the dilating drops.
After all of the bright lights, the Retina Doctor and I look at the images from the periscope. There’s the back of my eyeball. Black, white and gray. A negative image of a pork tenderloin sliced down the middle. She prescribes a new drop to flatten some swelling. See you in 3 months.
Virtual glaucoma appointment on the menu for next week.
Rainy and chilly, it was another pants day today, I did the groceries, drove home and put the pork chops in the freezer.
Comments