I met my deductible last month. I'm not really sure if that's a good or a bad thing. Regardless, it means I can take advantage of not having to pay for meds or doctors appointments for the rest of the year — which is winding down quickly. One doctor I need to see (quite literally) is Dr. Basham, my eye doctor.
I really like Dr. Basham. He's a good guy and a good doctor. I've been seeing him for about six or seven years now, I guess. I had LASIK surgery back in 1996. I had terrible eyesight as a kid. I couldn't tell you what it was, but I was told that I was legally blind without correction. That didn't stop me from driving a car without my glasses once in my youth, but that's a story for another day. Anyway, I had very bad astigmatism. I started wearing gas permeable contact lenses when I was 11. I also have very dry eyes, so the darned things wouldn't pop out. I had to carry this little rubber plunger thing with me to suck them out of my eyes. It was cumbersome and I was constantly panicked that I didn't have my plunger with me and would have to sleep with my contacts in — the most dreaded of all things to people with rigid lenses. So when I hit 35 or so, I decided no more contacts. I only wore my glasses. They were horrible. My astigmatism made them very concave (or convex — I can never remember which is which). They were thick and made my eyes look like tiny dots. They also made my head look like a pear. I know you probably think I am exaggerating, so those of you who knew me back in the day, feel free to comment below and confirm.
In 1996 the doctor I was seeing then suggested LASIK. So I refinanced my car and headed over to the Indiana Lasik Center for my big day. It truly was pretty amazing. The whole thing seemed like it was over in about five minutes. After they were finished they propped me up and asked me to look at the clock and tell them what time it was. It was noon! I could see it perfectly. Went back to work the next day — without any correction.
Gradually throughout the year my vision regressed. I went in for an enhancement surgery and that helped, but eventually I needed to wear glasses again. But they were no longer those huge, heavy things that would constantly slide down my nose — nor were the lenses so strong that I was afraid to take them off in sunlight for fear that I might start a grass fire.
Since 1996 I have aged, of course, and about six years ago during a visit to Dr. Basham he told me he was concerned about how my vision was fluctuating. I just thought it was from the LASIK and didn't give it a second thought. Then, at work, I noticed I couldn't see my computer screen that well. I was already into bifocals by then, so I didn't think that had anything to do with it. I moved my computer around and tried to figure out what was going on. One morning I was drinking coffee and realized that I was drinking it — not sipping it, like you do with coffee, but kind of guzzling it. I remembered that the night before I drank a soda the same way. And then a conversation came to me that I had with my niece. Her daughter had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and the way that Shannon knew this was that Bailey was thirsty — constantly. I googled "Type 2 diabetes" and guess what two of the symptoms were? Blurry vision and thirst.
Needless to say, vision problems are part of the program. As a matter of fact, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in adults age 20 to 74. Besides Glaucoma and Cataracts, diabetes can lead to Diabetic Retinopathy, which due to damage of small blood vessels in your eyes. Which is exactly why it's so important to see an eye doctor regularly. But, here's the rub — you may not see better, because after a round of high sugars, it may take as long as three months for your eye sight to stabilize before a new prescription can be given.
So, this is the next thing on my agenda. Dr. Basham, I'll see you soon!
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