Healthcare Priorities

Dearest Rachel –

Today’s ‘work’ day is going to be shorter than most, so I figure I ought to get this letter out to you sooner as well. Then again, who knows? There may be certain results from the reason I’m leaving the ‘office’ so soon that I’ll want to tell you about. Let’s see how this goes.

But to start things off, I should tell you what’s going on. And from the title I’ve attached to this letter (isn’t it weird that I feel the need to title these letters? I guess dating them really doesn’t tell the whole story, especially to those that might want to metaphorically read these things over your shoulder), you might guess that this has to do with my health. Maybe a doctor’s appointment or some such?

Spot on, honey – or at least, as much so as might be expected. It’s a little more specific than that, since it’s actually one with the ophthalmologist my folks recommended, seeing that Dr. E passed away at some point within the neighborhood of your own departure, leaving Daniel and me to find someone new to keep tabs on our potentially failing eyesight, and prescribe upgrades to our glasses as necessary.

But you might find yourself asking, why am I bothering to tell you about such an appointment? Sure, it’s a break from the usual (such as it is, since it’s not a nine-to-five, hone-to-office-and-back life I lead), but there’s otherwise nothing particularly unusual about it. In fact, given that I was there just over a year ago (and you remember how I used to only ever bother with such things every couple of years or so, if that – a fact I’ll get into a little more shortly), the only particularly odd this is that I’m actually doing so again so soon, wouldn’t you say? Why, you might think this is commendable of me to pay attention to my health like this.

Yes, well… about that. You see, I’m guessing that the ophthalmologist’s office insisted that I set up an appointment as I was leaving the place last year. And, since I always assume that my calendar is basically free, I agreed to do so at the time. But the appointed day was Wednesday, not today… so why is it I’m telling you about how I’m going there today?

You see, this is where it becomes a question of priorities. I’d gotten a reminder text from their office at some point last week, which I took a cursory look at at the time, and then mentally dismissed it. But when Lars called this past Sunday evening (after I’d gotten home from chasing Erin and the other runners, so I was perfectly okay to talk), he suggested Wednesday as the best time, both for his schedule and the weather, to meet for our weekly walk, which I agreed to as well, not thinking in the moment about any other possible commitments.

As some point after hanging up from talking to him, I vaguely recalled that I’d gotten this reminder, and decided to check as to the date and time. Sure enough, I was scheduled to have my eyes checked at about the same time that I would be driving out to Harms Woods to meet up with Lars. This would not do.

And here’s where one might question my priorities; I called up the ophthalmologist’s office, and asked them to reschedule me, rather than inform Lars that I would be an hour later than we normally meet. I don’t know what this says about me, or whether you would understand my prioritization scale – I think you would, considering that this is relatively soon after my last visit, given my history as you remember it, but I can’t be certain.

***

Given that the appointment was for the mid-morning, it might have been understandable if I were to just stay home, and headed out to the doctor’s office directly from the house. But that didn’t seem appropriate to me. To be sure, I didn’t actually head downstairs to my desk, let alone switch my computer on (or turn off the power supply, like I usually do of a Friday; I may yet regret that). This was more just a matter of making an appearance, and hanging out and checking in with the folks. More priorities, I suppose.

We talked until ten to ten or so, which gave me ample time to make it over by the top of the hour, “assuming you get all green lights,” which is never a safe assumption to make. But as the appointment was at ten after, I had plenty of time to absorb any red lights I might have to deal with – which, as Murphy would tell you, is the surest way to not have to deal with any. I was in, registered, copay taken care of, and being seen to right on schedule.

***

I was going to go on in this letter about how I’ve been less than attentive to my medical upkeep. Even my dental checkups, which I’ve been good about doing at least once a year, have never been on the six-monthly cycle that one is recommended to hew to. Why should I, when I never even have so much as a cavity to deal with?

Likewise, with my overall health in general, I’m not a big fan of my doctor – and even less so, after hearing him praise Tony “the Science” Fauci as “a brilliant man” (which I suppose he may well be, but the phrase evil genius is a cliché for a reason. And if it that nickname makes him sound like some kind of mobster, understand that that’s fully intentional – while my primary care physician thinks of him in glowing terms, Lars would say I’m being charitable in my characterization of the man who literally has claimed to be “the science”) – I only made myself go in order to keep my prescriptions up-to-date. Of course, now that I’ve lost enough weight that my lisinopril isn’t necessary, and I can get omeprazole over the counter, I see little reason to go back to him for now. So this trip back to have my eyes checked seemed to be an unnecessary additional effort and expense.

However, after going through the usual eye chart readings, and peering through various different combinations of lenses along the way, the practitioner informed me that I was going to be needing a new lens prescription – at least, one that was different from the ones I was wearing. And while I found that to be discouraging – my eyes have decayed so much since just last year that I would need a modification already? – when the doctor arrived to present me with the prescription itself (as well as other analyses), he pointed out that the glasses I was wearing were calibrated from my last prescription I’d gotten from Dr. E back in 2017 or so. And here I thought I’d been wearing my 2022 glasses all this time… I wonder where my new pair disappeared to? Or did the optical place get my old and new prescriptions mixed up when I presented them to them last year?

This probably means I should take care of getting this filled as soon as possible; at least, I have all afternoon to do so. I might try one of their other recommended eyewear places, though; several of them are nearer, and there might be less chance for confusion. Or maybe I’ll wait until next week.

Either way, honey, keep an eye on me, and wish me luck; I’m going to need it.