Gramma Goes to the Eye Doctor

Gramma had her annual eye appointment today.

She was so excited. Any event to get out of the house is borderline-Christmas for her, even though she gets out about 4 times a week! (Maybe I’m just a homebody?!)

Do complaints lead to fear, or does fear lead to complaining?

Gramma has been complaining about her vision since she moved in a year and a half ago. Last fall, she had her yearly optometrist appointment and got a new pair of glasses. They seemed to help for a little bit, but then she went right back to fretting over them. She consistently says she just wants them to “change the lens so I can see better.”

She’s deathly afraid of going blind. Gramma has a daughter-in-law who is blind due to diabetes, and Gramma does NOT want that to happen to her.

Her appointment at Cokingtin was the day after we got home from being out of town. I would have rescheduled it except I had already had to move several of her other ear and doctor appointments due to her hospital stay. If my mom reminded me once about it while I was absent, she said it a dozen times! I was NOT to forget, or Gramma would be very upset! Personally, a day to get my feet on the ground would have been well-received, but when you’re a full-time caregiver…(!)

Home

The Cokingtin Eye Center foyer was full of “old people,” which either means:

• there aren’t a lot of options for the elderly
• the business is cheap and people flood in
• or they know what they are doing

Thankfully, it appeared to be the latter.

Respect your elders

They ran several tests, and gave a broad range of directions, and she did well with each one. They were clear about which chairs rolled or swiveled, which helped Gramma immensely (and me too, as I guided her). They doublechecked halls that crossed so there was no way Gramma could get run over, and were inclined to park her in the nearest chair. She may look 80, but her mannerisms and frailty belie her appearance, and when you have a First Follower that respects the Ancient One, others follow suit.

The optometrist

The optometrist had a great bedside manner. I had noticed that last year. Gramma knew all about her 3 boys, and the optometrist gave her an update (although it seemed word for word to be what it was last year!) 2 are in college and 1 is still at home, and her grocery bill has gone waaaay down since the 2 moved out! (I guess you could say that several years in a row and it still be true…)

Cataracts?

Gramma has had a milky-film-look on her right eye that I assumed was related to cataracts. But nope; it’s called “crocodile shagreen” (sounds like chagrin) and apparently doesn’t affect her vision at all. Her’s hasn’t changed since last year. It’s brought on by advanced age and does not need to be treated.

The doctor went on to say that her pressure is good, the glaucoma is stable, and she does not need new glasses. (Gramma visibly deflated when she heard that; she wanted immediate improved vision!)

Although this was good news, the doctor went on to say that both of Gramma’s eyes have macular degeneration, which she explained is similar to having a bald spot on a tire. Eventually, at the current rate of approximately 10 percent decline a year, the bald spot will get bigger and damage the part of the macula that controls straight-ahead vision. Gramma will still be able to see peripherally, but not dead-ahead, and she won’t be in complete darkness.

Asking the eye doctor follow-up questions

I asked the eye doctor how long Gramma had been dealing with this, and she said it had been about 15 years. I then asked if it continued to decline at the same rate, how long would it be before Gramma couldn’t see straight ahead of her. There, of course, was a little bit of hemming and hawing, which I expected because there are NO GUARANTEES about our health, but when I repeated the question, including phrases like “theoretically speaking,” “possible,” and the explanation of Gramma’s fear of blindness, the doctor mentioned probably approximately 5 years before the spot would be totally blurry. She reiterated that it would never go entirely black and she will still have her peripheral vision.

Scheduling her next appointment

Gramma was relieved to hear this information, and we made our way back to the front. I let Gramma choose where she wanted to sit in the waiting room, and then I went back to the desk to check out and schedule the next appointment. Unfortunately, their computer system doesn’t book a year in advance. This continues to surprise me. We have phones on our wrists, bots trolling the internet, and driverless cars, but PROFESSIONAL calendars can’t schedule an appointment 12 months out?! Maybe I’m the only one this frustrates?!

THE END