I hugged a doctor

 I know, it seems strange to say that doesn't it?

I've known my Optometrist for 6 years. He and I had a mutual interest in photography. He has been advocate for my eye care. He is a young fella who loves to photograph nature and birds. We'd discuss camera settings and things we want to photograph while he peered into my eyes. 

He was my after care doctor for my cataract surgery [which turned out excellent!].

During the annual appointment this week, he came into the room beaming and glowing. He had important news to tell me. 

I said, "You're going to have a baby!"

"You are right! A baby girl in 3 weeks!"

He never missed a beat and went on to tell me how excited and scared he was about being a father.  I was over the moon with that and so happy for him.

Unfortunately it also meant that he was going to transfer to a eye clinic closer to home. 

He asked about how I was doing as a Caregiver and expressed his concern over hubby being in Hospice. I told him I was doing good all things considered and that my eyes and photography kept me sane.

My eyes hadn't changed now in two years so our appointment was short.

When I got up to leave, I asked if I could give him a hug. He gave me the biggest smile and there it was, I hugged my eye doctor. 

That was the high point of the week, finding joy in someone else's life. I'll be sad that I won't see him anymore and I won't forget our discussions about photography either.

I swear, if we hadn't been patient and doctor we'd meet up somewhere and have coffee and show each other our work and talk about cameras, lenses, and methods.

He said his photography interests would now change from wildlife to...well, baby portraits!

I have to admit, I will miss him as an eye doctor. However, the one I'm transferring to is another doctor who took care of me when I had a vitreous hemorrhage. That doctor not only had a great sense of humor, but also is quite the character. How lucky can I be?

I will leave you with a photo of the day for fun.

A Lego Migratus flying in to eat next to a Sparrow....

Find Your Inner Peace

 I just thought I'd share some colorful calming stuff today.
These are photos from last April when the forest was beginning to awaken.

I listened to the news this morning. Not good.

I am taking the rest of the day off from the news as yesterday was a cluster-f-ck. Pardon my French. It started off by an event on the way to my doctor's appointment.

Olive's husband's dog ran out [they wear electronic collars and always just run to the ditch and stop]. 

Apparently the collar didn't work and he went right into my front right of the car just under the headlight and next to the front wheel. 

Stunned, I went 20 feet and stopped and couldn't see the dog anywhere. So I called and Olive answered breathlessly that she had the dogs in the house and she was sorry. And I was sorry. And my car suffered damage to the front piece that I'd just replaced a year and a half ago from the great liquid cement fiasco.

UFFDAH!

So then it was time to see my doctor. She is a PA that I've seen since I've lived here. She is much younger than I am so I must have started seeing her when she was 'brand new'. 

I started to keep a daily log of the weird stuff since I started to have some strange muscle and joint pain at the end of December. 

Short notes.
Date, what happened, pain level, tylenol taken, or heat, or ice, ... for each day something happened. The good days were noted and I told her those days were active days for me in which I felt normal enough to hike and enjoy life.

I also gave her my 'log' of BP's. She kept that and now next week I have to go in once more just to give in a week's new log and a readings. I'll see a nurse who will check my BP and see if the cuff is as accurate human reader. [A bit of sarcasm there]. 

She did note that if she gave me BP meds she was afraid I'd bottom out a lot. 

I had her note the stars next to the higher readings with short hand notes that explained that things that disturbed the balance of things which make my BP peak. 

You know the balance of my inner peace and contentment....which I'm sure I am in control of each day...you know that inner peace thing....

"Oh your blood pressure is elevated today," said Anne, she is so sweet. She gives me the eye.

"I hit my friend's dog on the way here." I reply. "Dog's okay. I'm not. I feel like my inner peace took a crap."

Anne smiles and we move on to what she feels are pertinent. This is an ER after visit after all.

Protocol says that the chest pains were not a heart attack and probably not angina. To rule other things out I'll have a Stress Test.

"You are at that AGE now where we have to think about these things," Anne says in her nice but firm voice.

I grasp me chest and go all wide eyed. "What? I'm at THAT age. OMG, I thought I'd be dead by THAT age." I blink and smile sweetly.

See, Anne gets me. She chuckles and says, "You are that AGE." She didn't throw me out of the little room we were in.

I am poked, prodded, listened to and examined and then I go see the vampire so she can take vials of blood. [Do lab workers drink that stuff??? Kidding]

We discuss that it could have been anxiety. But why the weird pain? She looks at the notes and the logs and then at the side effects of Prolia and says it didn't happen in the first weeks of Prolia?

I'll address that at another time. I have a theory.

Good news though. 

Anne knows that I am stuck at home more in the winter. She asks if I have 'support' and I tell her about my Legends Class and my Wolf Pack ... well coffee/workout buddies but that sounds so lame.

Anne concludes that we'll do the follow ups, the Stress Test, and that I need to go to class with my friends even if I can't do much.

She then forbids me to go hiking until after the Stress Test. 

Do you think I can follow her rules for the next 3 days?

Be like Charlie find your

Inner Peace....

Ps~ The dog is fine, he is sore but he will be okay. Nathan came out and saw the damage and told me to get it fixed and they will pay for it. 
No hard feelings between us and a quick hug while standing in the road this morning.