Today, I woke up and the very first thing I did was ask God to allow me the opportunity to be a blessing in someone else’s life today. Then I asked Him to allow one little cup of coffee to do the job of of 5! You see, I stayed up late last night finishing my Christmas shopping online, for my immediate family. This wasn’t intentional, it’s just as I was reading E-mails last night, PayPal Credit informed me of my wonderful available credit and then directed me to Overstock.com, who, it seems, is having an anniversary sale. Sale? I was sucked in immediately. I know that, with my crazy schedule running between my home outside of Bastrop for one week to the Houston area, to be with my parents and Ken for a week or two, I would be too exhausted to even consider traditional Christmas shopping. So, I got started. I found the perfect gifts for grandchildren, big boys with families of their own, daughters and daughters-in-“love,” and most of all Ken! It only took me until 1 a.m. to actually successfully complete the checkout process BUT I saved $165.00 off of the already marked down prices and got some really awesome gifts. This, my friends, is why I woke up 45 minutes before I had to be on the road to Austin to the Mann Eye Institute. Well, that and the fact that my phone was on mute and the alarm did me no good at all! (See, now you know the rest of the story.)
As I threw on my clothes and downed a cup of coffee, brushed my teeth, and just wet down my wild hair from the night before….I had no idea about the wheels that were already set in motion for today’s blessing. I looked like a bag lady, when I left the house, but I was so tired that it didn’t bother me one bit. Those of you who truly know me, know this is a big step for me to actually let go of my perpetual perfectness. It has been hard but I have been in therapy and trying to accept that, with age comes complete exhaustion, and with exhaustion, we cannot always look our best, feel our best, or accomplish all of the things we used to accomplish in one short day. Now, it takes me three days to accomplish one. I try not to keep track of my deficit but embrace it, as a new season in life, per se….. it just sounds so much better than, damn girl, you sure have gotten so much slower and sloppier these days!
I made it to my appointment in Austin, with a whole two minutes to spare, but only because the new construction on Hwy 71 had finally opened the new freeway and the Little Old Lady from Pasadena could go go go! I went through the normal routine with all of these very fancy high-tech machines that had me seeing beautiful spots and rectangles and spirals every time I would close my eyes. Who needs drugs these days? One can just go to the eye doctor and see tracers of the most vivid colors for a full 30 minutes, without all of the side effects! Then came the point where they put in the drops to dilate the eyes. I was hoping I would have no repeat of the time my eyes were dilated and the right eye decided to respond ferociously. That day, I went into the ladies room and, while washing my hands, happened to glance at myself in the mirror and saw Mad Eye Moody staring back at me! I found it so funny and entertaining that I actually took a selfie and sent it to all of my kids with the caption “Mad Eye Moody.” Nothing quite remarkable happened today unless we count the intense headache and right eye pain I have had ever since.
I waited in the waiting room, for the pupils to grow, and then was called back to meet Dr. Barker. He was young, cute as a button, and had that something special that only certain people in life seem to have. I liked him immediately. I apologized for my bag lady look and told him I was just lucky to be there. After all of his testing, he confirmed what I already knew. I have really bad cataracts. My right eye is so bad, it is nearly useless, and it is my dominant eye. He explained that this could most likely account for my increase in headaches of late, that and wearing my glasses. It seems my eyes have gotten so bad, I actually see better without my prescription progressive no line bifocals! I just want to be able to read the TV Guide on the television. Dr. Barker tells me he can get me all fixed up and I will only need reading glasses, when he is done with me. He was about to leave the room, when he said, “Have a Blessed Day.” I immediately told him how I always ask God to let me be a blessing to someone that day and, I too, like to use the phrase, Have a Blessed Day. We chatted a moment and then he sent me to the surgical coordinator and financial advisor.
Once in Roland’s office, he got down to business. I rearranged my calendar for days in Houston and actually got it all worked out where I can have my right eye cataract surgery on October 27, and my left eye on November 3.
Mind you, I have NO car right now because I burned up the clutch in our little red hot rod, so it is just resting in the driveway at this time. I don’t have the funds to fix the car and it is Ken’s car….so, Ken has my car in Houston and I am dependent on my wonderful daughters to either take me to appointments (which are many) or let me borrow their cars. We have been playing this game since the end of July and I must say, I am sure my kids are getting sick of me. Thank you so much Sarah and Holly because I really don’t know what I would do without you two. I also have my ex sister-in-law living with me and she was gracious enough to take off work for my foot surgery and let me use her car in the evenings, when necessary. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, Teresa. I am just glad that we can be here for each other.
After getting the surgery dates set and all of the many preoperative and postoperative followup appointments, Roland then told me that there would be a $1,000.00 charge per eye, over and above what the insurance would pay. I almost fell out of my chair. I was here because my insurance is paying 100%, at this time, since it has been an unusually busy medical year for me. He tried to explain why this was necessary but all I could muster was, “There is no way we can pay that and we will just have to cancel the surgeries.” This was the same conversation I had in March, when the other eye doctor told me my cost would be $900 per eye. I know I must have looked completely deflated because Roland said, “Hold on a minute while I go talk with Dr. Barker.” When he returned, he looked astonished and said, “Dr. Barker is waiving both fees. He will take care of your cataracts for what your insurance is paying. There will be no out of pocket cost to you.” I silently thanked God right that second. I knew that He had pulled the old switcharoo and instead of me blessing someone else, I had been on the receiving end today. I counted my blessings all the way home in those hideous dark plastic wrap around things they call sunglasses. I have been in bed, in a very dark room, ever since I got home with a horrible headache and right eye pain, from the dilation. One thing I know for certain, God hears our prayers. He knows our needs. I will be having a nice talk with Dr. Barker, when I see him in a couple of weeks, and letting him know what a blessing he has given me, in giving me back my eyesight. I wish there were more “Dr. Barker’s” in this world. I understand how truly blessed I am, for the one that entered my world today.
Blessings to you All, as we embark on this Holiday Season.