A Visit to the Eye Doctor

   I got some unexpected time off and am using it to take care of a few things. One of those things is my yearly eye exam. I hate going to the eye doctor. My biggest fear is going completely blind and it seems that every year I get closer and closer to that happening.
  I've had some bad experiences with some of the tests that they have to do, especially to me because I'm so near sighted. Every year I'm supposed to have my eyes dilated. I really really dislike that. I have to find someone to drive me to and from. I also have to take an entire day off work as it takes eight hours or more before I can see again. (Even when they put those drops in to make it better.) I also don't like the nasty puff of air test for glaucoma.
  Fortunately I found an eye doctor that takes a picture of my eye so I don't have to dilate and uses a much better way to measure eye pressure. I tell all health care professionals that I deal with that I am a pharmacist. I prefer that they talk to me as they would any other colleague. If I don't understand something,I'll ask. The eye doctor I found is nice,has a good sense of humor and makes the appointments almost fun.
   This year he was all booked up for the time I wanted to get in. I could have an appointment with a new optometrist that they just hired. I wasn't too sure about that, but wanted to get it over with. I took the appointment.
  The day before I fretted a little. What if this guy was a jerk? What if he dilates my eyes even though I tell him not to? What if he treats me like a four year old? I was not looking forward to this.
  I left for my appointment more than a little nervous. When I got to the office, I filled out the usual paperwork. The optical assistant came right out for me.
  She was someone I knew well. It made me feel better. The first thing they do is check to see how my vision is with my contacts and glasses. She asks me to read a line of letters. Then I have to cover each eye and read different lines. Normally when I cover my right eye, I can't see much. The left eye always gets worse. I covered my right eye expecting the line of letters to disappear.
  "Oh wow!" I exclaimed. The optician promptly asked if something was wrong. "No, This is the first time I've covered my eye and have still been able to see the letters." It was amazing. I couldn't remember the last time that happened. I could see just fine. Things were getting off to a good start.
  As we went through the rest of the tests, I asked her about the new optometrist. She said that he was very good, very thorough and nice. I'm sure she would not have said anything bad about him, but her attitude about him seem genuine. As we were talking he walked in.
  He was very young. He looked younger than my stepson. Visions of Doogie Howser flashed through my head. He did not look old enough to be doing what he was doing. "Is the ink dry on your license yet?" I teased. He smiled.
  OK, good he can take teasing. Then he put me through just as through an exam as the other optometrist would do. Since I wouldn't let him dilate my eyes, he looked at them carefully with a bright light. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be. It wasn't bad at all.
  After the poking and prodding, he told me that he was going to change my contacts as my eyes were pretty dry. He was going to order two trial pairs and I could see which one I liked better. He also told me that my prescription hadn't changed much. I was pleased to hear that. After all the years of things getting worse, my eyes were finally starting to stabilize. Whew!
  I decided to get new glasses anyway. I had flex plan money to use and my current frames were not comfortable. One of the assistants started to help me find some new frames. As we were looking the optometrist came out and started to look too. I was taken aback. "What are you doing out here?" I asked.
   "I like looking at frames," he said.
   "Show him the ones we picked out," said the assistant.
    I had three choices that I tried on. I started with my last choice and ended with the one I liked best. He agreed that the last pair was the best. I thanked him for his help and he ambled off.
   I ordered my glasses and prepaid for my contacts. It even cost less than I expected. This visit had turned out better than I had planned. I left the office feeling good and looking forward to my new glasses and contacts.