Disclaimer: Written about a year ago, but found today (July 28, 2018).
I went back to my calendar, and interesting timing on my memory - the date I was writing about below - Aug 2, 2017 - Almost one year later to the day.
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This morning, Dad had an appointment scheduled with the Eye Surgeon to discuss his cataracts and the plan for dealing (or not dealing) with them.
I woke up "late" - later than I had planned, but still early for the rest of the world - 0430, so that I could get some work done before taking Dad. I felt the start of a headache, but blew it off.
In hindsight, I later realized it was a tension headache. Taking Dad to a new Dr, which is stressful for me in and of itself. The fact that surgery, no matter how minor, is involved probably skyrockets my stress level and tends to overwhelm my emotions - whether I realize it or not.
I picked Dad up, and off we went. I don't mind driving him to Doctors, but as I have posted in many posts before, many times I turn into the parent, and this was one of them. I flat out refuse to let (forbid) Dad drive there - alone, or not. Our Eye Doctor is in the West Valley on the other side of town, and to get there you take I-10 to I-17, or as they are called here - "the 10" to "the 17." Many out here are like me, and are loyal to certain freeways. I like the 101 and the 202, and will take them if possible. I hate "the 10" - the drivers just seem more aggressive than on other highways. And the only one I hate worse than the 10..you guessed it, the 17. Uggh - so let's just add to the headache and stress level. I was full of nerves, tension, and nausea.
For most of the ride, I just prayed please just get us there safely, and He did.
Because like father, like son, and like son, like father - we were over 40 minutes early so we stopped to get some breakfast and a cup of coffee for me.
Got to the Dr's office, and we were both under the impression that we were just going to talk to the doctor and be out within a few minutes. Lo and behold, we were finished 2.5 hours later! They moved us around the office, conducting various different tests and whatnot...the last nurse to come in before we saw the surgeon made a comment to the effect of "well you will get some drops before your procedure is done, which caught both of us off guard. We both thought that meant one of his cataracts was getting removed today!
When I feel we have not had time to prepare, or warned, about something - I turn into the ferocious Papa Bear attacking back; the defender and protector. My normally quiet and shy demeanor takes the backseat to my assertive and take control of the situation side. This was no different; The nurse left the room. We both exchanged quizzical looks and then I said we were going to ask the doctor if he didn't tell us otherwise if he was having one of the procedures done today. I basically went into attack mode.
"Why didn't they tell us"
"How you can plan for this"
"This is a total lack of communication"
"If they do this again, that's their third strike..I will look for a new doctor"
(I was a bit feisty)
The doctor came in and thoroughly explained everything - what to expect, what would happen, what the recovery would be like, etc. He really won both of us over. As much as you look for a doctor with experience and medical skills, for lack of a better word - I also want a doctor with a good bedside manner, and this guy had it. He managed to answer all the questions I had, before I had a chance to ask them. I got the feeling he had his "shpiel" down pat, and it calmed me down and put me at ease.
After we saw the surgeon/doctor, we then met with the scheduler. Thank G-d for Google Calendar, so with the 3 of us sitting there, I can access my calendar at work, and my personal calendar as well as my parents calendar, and we negotiated dates and times that would work best for my schedule as the hired help aka chauffeur and Dad and other appointments he had.
The headache increased and was nearly throbbing - because now I really had to face the fact that he was going to deal with the cataracts and surgery. I hate change, and I definitely hate new medical stuff, but, at least I recognized it, and I knew that doing this in Dad's best interest to help him see clearly again.
So with our dates set for now - we left for home. Originally I thought I would have Dad drop me at work and I would just take an Uber home, but they dilated his eyes so that idea was pretty much a non-idea. I drove him home and then left to go to work.
Always trust your intuition!! As I was about to get back on the highway, I thought, Wouldn't it just really suck to get hit as I'm trying to rush back to work. And in that next moment, a car decided not to look, and cut me off, forcing to slam on the brakes so hard, I felt my entire body rise up off the seat. I was inches from slamming into them, for what was their own fault. UGGH! All was well, no accidents thank goodness. Just my nerves getting even more shot.
In hindsight, about a year past when I originally wrote this - Sometimes you just can't plan. You have no choice, but to react accordingly and do all you can to survive.
Perhaps that's why I never posted this. I thought it was missing something, and I could never figure out how to end this post and tie it all together. The student was waiting for the teacher to appear with the lesson.
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