Can't You Just Let Me Forget for a While?
This afternoon, Kathy and I had back-to-back appointments for eye exams at Costco. We sat in the cramped, makeshift waiting room filling out forms while people purchased big screen TVs 20 feet away.
As with most doctors' forms, the paperwork that I had to fill out before my eye exam asked questions about my current state of health. One of the things that happens after you get cancer (and probably other serious diseases) is that you have to keep telling people about your diagnosis. Most of the time, though, you'd really rather forget about it, and writing it down is like reminding yourself. I sort of resented having to state yet again that I had breast cancer.
The optometrist was friendly and efficient. We went through the eye exam (which often stresses me out-wait! A and B both looked bad! What if I guessed wrong and my glasses don't work?!) quickly and he told me that my prescription only needed a little tweaking. That was a relief, since my glasses are five years old! I was feeling pretty happy.
He made a note of the prescription, then spun his stool back around to me. "Of course, we'll need to dilate your pupils for a retina exam. As you know, breast cancer likes to metastasize to the eyes, so I'll check for that."
Hey, hey, hey! No I did NOT know that breast cancer can spread to my eyes and do you mind not suggesting that it might have done so? I don't know, maybe be a little more vague, use terms like, "in the off-chance that..." Sigh. These medical-types can really get a girl down.
Afterwards, we picked out our frames, placed our order, and then did some shopping. No big screen TV, just basic stuff. With my pupils dilated, though, I nearly blind from the light. Kathy was kind enough to lead me around so that I didn't crash into rows of indoor palms, stacks of weather stations, and ladies in hair nets giving out food samples. Next time I'm bringing sunglasses with me to the appointment. Of course, next time I'll have sunglasses.
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