My Eye Exam

I had my annual eye exam at the opthalmologist a few days ago.

While I was in the waiting room, a toddler came in with his dad and grandmother. (Probably the grandmother had an appointment). The dad dragged a toy close and attempted to get the child interested in it without success. I thought it strange. Then later on, I noticed the toddler reading this leaflet with concentration. His dad was reading his own paper in much the same way.

I noticed the waiting room was not as crowded. The doctor's assistant told me she developed a new system where she will call in 2 patients at a time. One will sit in a room nearby while the other is being assessed. Then the doctor will see them in that order. The time saving results from not having to wait for each patient to walk from the waiting area to the assessment room one by one. Ingenious, and they are moving patients faster, resulting in a less crowded waiting room.

I've had a small cataract in my right eye for a number of years, so the doctor checks to make sure it hasn't grown to a point where I'll need to have surgery. It's been stable. I used to have a recurring eye inflammation in that eye toward the end of my working years. When I quit my job, the problem disappeared. It must have been the stress. I've been seeing this doctor for about 13 years now. He has a lot of older patients who think he's wonderful and I certainly think he's a good doctor for the few minutes I spend with him once a year. This time, I couldn't help but notice his hair is thinning and he's coloured it. He must be middle-aged now.

While waiting my turn, I flipped through a current issue of People magazine. Singer Ricki Martin was featured with a photo of his new surrogate twins. He talks about 'coming out' and how difficult it was being a gay Latin man. There was another story on Ellen DeGeneres' wife and her struggle with an eating disorder.

I ran into my family doctor in the parking lot as I was leaving. He's in the same building. He actually saw me because my eyes were still dilated from the eye drops.