Nerves Happen - And A Positive Doctor's Attitude/Visit REALLY Helps With The Fear Butterflies!

And so the story continues.......

Yesterday was my appointment with my Retina Specialist. And like every appointment re: 1 in A Million, I was nervous.

But this was the second time I was seeing Dr. S, and I knew that was not only a gifted specialist, he was a gifted communicator and incredibly kind, unlike his predecessor Dr. Shit For Brains, who was neither. Dr. Shit For Brains had been my beloved late Dr. Mac's predecessor, and while he may know all the Retina facts, his bedside manner sucked!

I was nervous from the get go, and had the elevated 214 bgnow to prove it, but his staff didn’t judge.

I told them that previous morning blood sugar was 111 and the nurse said: Hey, you were 90 the last morning visit you had - You don't worry about your 214.

Me: Thanks - You guys freak me out - I was so nervous last night and this morning!

Nurse: That'll do it!!!

She asked all the typical questions, and I gave the typical answers - And waited for my eyes to become dilated a’la an anime character.

Apparently my pressure was very good and there was no swelling to speak of - So I had that going for me.

The good Dr. came in, shook my hand and asked how my summer was going.

Me: Good....so far.

Dr.S: Doing anything fun?

Me: Working, traveling here and there - and of course the beach.

Dr. S: OF COURSE. Any changes that you notice since your last visit?

Me: Nope, everything’s the same.

Dr. S: That’s good!

Me: I hope so. Actually, I hope it's lower!

Dr. S: Your last a1c was 7 - You still there?

Me: I think & I hope so, but my Endo appointment isn’t until September - I had to cancel my June appointment because I was in California.

Dr. S: Don’t worry about.

Me: Ok.

Dr. S: So I’m going to examine your retina’s just like before.

Me: OK.

And he did. He put that crazy eye contraption up against my eyes, and began flashing a series of lights, white, red and blue that damn near blinded me.

He calmly rattled off Doctor speak to his assistant who wrote it all down.

I I could feel my eyes starting to tear from the all the lights - and possibly the stress.

He Did a physical exam of my eyes with the lights and his hands. Looking under the lids and having me follow his finger left and right, up and down.

Then he grabbed a tissue and wiped my tear away and said: EVERY THING LOOKS GREAT!

Me: REALLY?

Dr. S: No changes since last time -You still have a two tiny micro pinhole bleeds - Which is normal for 33 years of diabetes - But they are really small. Your pressure is great and I see no optic nerve swelling. Honestly, those tiny bleeds could stay that way for years and years before we’d have to do anything. And you’d need at least 6 before we could even consider working on them. Seriously, your eyes look great!!

33 years with diabetes and all I can say is, keep up the great work and I don’t need to see you for 6 months.

Me: OK, I will. But...I’d feel safer if you saw me in 4 months instead of 6.

Dr.S: OK, I understand - But Kelly, diabetically speaking, you're in good shape.

Me: OK, I’m happy about that..... But I still freak out every single time I walk through your office door.

Dr. S: Of course you do - You had 1 in a million vision issue that was a fluke that had nothing to do with your diabetes!

Me: Part of me still gets so nervous.

Dr. S: Of course you do - The clot cut off your eye's oxygen supply and the fact that all your test came back normal was great - but unfortunately, your vision was affected.

Me: I know - So I guess you can't put some robotic camera in my brain and make my eye see better?

Dr. S: Actually, we are working on some robotic type brain cameras connecting to the optic nerve, but right now it's only for patients with a certain type of eye disease.

Me: Well, I'm lucky to see what I can see out of the eye and that it looks and moves perfectly normal, which is a lot more then some people have - And I'm so grateful for that! And don't worry, I'm not going to hold my breathe on ocular robotics - But I'm glad you guys are working on it!

Dr. S: Tell me again what exactly happened - I want to make sure that I know everything.

And we went over the “one in a million” from the beginning, including all the crazy tests that ruled everything, including diabetes out. No brain or heart problems to speak of!

I looked him straight in the eye and told him about what had happened, as if I’d been a spectator instead of the actual participant.

Dr. S: And they did the corroded arteries scans?

Me: Yes, and the tech told me, and I quote: You have one of the best sets of corroded arteries I’ve seen!

And then my Doctor laughed out loud and his ears turned red!

Dr. S: You are a lucky woman and you are a healthy woman.

And that really made me smile.

We said goodbye and I went to the front desk; scheduled my appointment for December and I walked to my car.

The butterflies in my stomach had stopped flapping their wings when Doctor S and I were mid conversation - And I hadn't even noticed until now.

I wasn't upset or scared. I was calm - Like the ocean a day after a hurricane hits. Quiet, calm, and surprisingly relaxed.

I was a healthy woman - And a very grateful one indeed!