It didn’t start as I had expected it eventually would. A week ago I was driving and I had the strangest sensation… I would look down at the dashboard periodically and when I looked up I felt as if I was going to lose consciousness. Of course when you are driving down the highway with your family in the car it is an extremely bad idea to lose consciousness, so I channeled my energies to… stay awake, for lack of a better term.
As the days went on I noticed the experience was getting worse, and pretty consistent. It did not matter how well I had slept, or if I was listening to music, or if there were people in the car. Also I noticed that it was not only happening when I drove, but also in all sorts of other situations.
Of course I told Theresa immediately, and I did my best to compensate… I did not look at the dashboard, for example. I turned my smartphone off when I drove. We hoped it would go away; Tuesday I took my older son on a day trip, and realized it was getting worse. When we got back to Oakville I dropped him off at home and went to the walk-in clinic. The doctor reassured me that my blood pressure and blood sugar were normal – I have been on a diet for two months and thought the weight loss might be an issue, but that didn’t seem plausible if my sugar was normal. I thought it could be ocular, and he agreed it was definitely possible, but to be safe I should make an appointment to see my family physician (whose office is one floor above the clinic).
My family doctor saw me this afternoon, and confirmed that it was likely not a tumour, and that my suspicion was very plausible. He told me to see an optometrist, and if he couldn’t rule out vision issues or glaucoma then I should return for further tests.
I sat in my car and Binged the term optometrist Oakville Ontario and came up with a decent selection, and started calling. The first two could not see me for a couple of weeks, but the third was able to fit me in this evening. I zipped down to Oakville Place and met the doctor, who chastised me for waiting four years between checkups. He also told me that my age and my profession have conspired against me, and that although I was indeed tumour and glaucoma free, I did need glasses. He wrote me my prescription,and I went next door to Lens Crafters, as I phoned Theresa to meet me there – after all, she looks at my face a lot more often than I do!
By the time she got there I had picked out three frames, none of which I ended up choosing. Truth be told, I think the Oakley frames were possibly 5-10% nicer than the Club Monaco pair that we ended up choosing, but for the $210 difference I was just as happy with these.
So the day after my thirty-ninth birthday, and for the first time since Boot Camp, I am wearing glasses indoors. I remember in my last year of high school when Dr. Foreman prescribed my first pair. I remember the excitement of the novelty wearing off in a hurry, and I never quite did get used to them, nor was I very religious about wearing them. I suspect that this time I will have the maturity and discipline to take the time to get used to them. Despite the constant cajoling of my wife who keeps telling me it is a sign that I am getting really old, I think I can get used to them, especially since this time we took the time to find the right pair that would be part of my face for the foreseeable future. Theresa, it should be mentioned, can make as much fun as she wants, as she is blind as a bat and has worn glasses as thick as my smartphone since she was a child. You would think she would be a little more understanding, what with the coincidence of this happening the day after my birthday!
Am I going blind? No. Truthfully I can really see as well without the glasses as I can with them. They are helping my eyes to adjust their focus… I hope they will help me keep my professional focus, and maybe even keep me from getting tired as quickly as I have in recent years.
