Going to the doctor was never a pleasant experience, but at least it wasn’t nerve wracking. Sometime around the age of 50 or so, I began to realize that after the examination, there’s a second part of the doctor experience, where you are summoned into his\/her office and told the ‘news’. And if you find yourself there, chances are that the news isn’t good. This knowledge makes the exams a bit fraught with worry, as I interpret every “hmm” and “hummm” out of the doctor’s mouth with something that I won’t want to hear later on.<\/p>\n
Yesterday’s torture was my annual eye retinopathy exam to see if diabetes had wrought any damage. My doctor, who also has diabetes, has long preached the wisdom of an extremely low-carb diet, so each time I see him my mind starts clicking into how many carbs I’ve eaten since I last saw him. My head filled with visions of the occasional cookie or bite of butter-pecan swirl ice cream, I tried to calm myself as he examined my dilated eyes. He is a very thorough doctor, which meant that I had plenty of time to imagine the worse — that despite my mostly good diet and exercise plan — something had gone very wrong.\u00a0 While he hemmed and hawed I could hear him calling me into his office to explain that despite my best efforts and a 5.8 a1c, my eyes were going downhill.<\/p>\n
“Mrs. Rush?” he called.<\/p>\n
I blinked and looked in his direction.<\/p>\n
“Everything is fine,” he said. “You’re good to go.”<\/p>\n
I looked up. “Are you sure?” I asked.<\/p>\n
He smiled and nodded, as if he knew precisely how I had spent the past seven minutes, coiled in my own anxieties.<\/p>\n
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