If you haven't seen Braska's admission, the girl is in the princess dog house for breaking her glasses.
So last night we got to my in-laws' house (St. Louis) at about 9pm. The idea was to be here in town so that we could either be seen by the optometrist to get an updated prescription or get the ok from him to go ahead and get a new pair of glasses with the same one. The reason the prescription is in doubt is that she has been crossing even with her glasses on over the past 10 days or so. This has been described as an indication that her prescription might need to be updated. So I was planning on trying to see them this Thursday when we were already scheduled to be at the hospital for appointments. Her disabling of the glasses simply exacerbated the need for an appointment, or at the very least, phone contact.
This morning we got up, I called the Eye Center at 9 am, left a message for Dr. S, the optometrist we saw two weeks ago. I wanted to know if he had done an exam that day (I can't really remember the extent of his exam.) to confirm her prescription or if he had just looked to see if the glasses were working like they wanted. The girl took the message and said he'd call back. I called back at 12:30pm, talked to the same girl, expressed my concern once again, explained why I wanted the info--needing to know if we should get a new pair with different prescription or new/repaired pair with same prescription--and asked what his hours were today. She said he was there all day, that she'd given him the note and Braska's chart that morning, and that he might not call back til after his last patient at 3pm, but he would probably be there til 4:30 or 5pm. I was polite and stated again that I didn't want to be a pain, but I really needed to get going on all this. She said she would try to follow up with him on it.
At 4:18pm I looked at the clock, and I told my mother-in-law I would wait til 4:30, so as not to be a bother to them, waiting but still catching them just before they go home. I called right at 4:30pm, on the dot. And of course....they close at 4:30pm, so the phones are already flipped to the recording. Can you say grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr? I was less than pleased, let's just say.
I waited less than patiently til 5pm, thinking maybe he's finishing up after getting done. It happens in my offices, it might be the case here. But no, no call came. I'm kicking myself that I didn't just show up at the office this morning to be seen or at least get a message in person. I'm kicking myself that I didn't at least request a same-day appointment when I talked to them this morning, knowing I could get what I needed that way. These are things I know to do...my job is to know how medical offices work, for heaven's sake! I don't know where my brain was. I just waited and fumed.
So tomorrow, we get up early, drive to the hospital, and sit at the Eye Center till I get what I need. My luck he won't be in on Tuesdays, but that's ok. Someone else can look at the chart and tell me what I need, and I'm sure one of the other optometrists or ophthalmologists can tell me what her current prescriptions should be if it comes to that. I hate having to do this...I can't stand these patients when I'm on the other end. But it's come to that. I'm frustrated, and Braska obviously can't see well without her glasses. She's been rubbing her eyes all day. I put a gauze wrap around the broken end of the ear piece to try to make them somewhat usable, but they don't sit right and she didn't keep them on for long between tosses. I don't blame her, they can't be comfortable that way.
Once we've determined what the correct prescription for right now is, we will go to the other eye center, where we get the tiny glasses ordered or repaired to take the next step. Then we wait 7 to 10 days for the repair or the new pair, so I can drive the 6-hour round trip one more time. In the meantime, I just wish we could rig something to help her see things without straining. Here's hoping that I can accomplish what I need to tomorrow without losing my cool. I think I can, I just wish I'd have been more with it today!
So last night we got to my in-laws' house (St. Louis) at about 9pm. The idea was to be here in town so that we could either be seen by the optometrist to get an updated prescription or get the ok from him to go ahead and get a new pair of glasses with the same one. The reason the prescription is in doubt is that she has been crossing even with her glasses on over the past 10 days or so. This has been described as an indication that her prescription might need to be updated. So I was planning on trying to see them this Thursday when we were already scheduled to be at the hospital for appointments. Her disabling of the glasses simply exacerbated the need for an appointment, or at the very least, phone contact.
This morning we got up, I called the Eye Center at 9 am, left a message for Dr. S, the optometrist we saw two weeks ago. I wanted to know if he had done an exam that day (I can't really remember the extent of his exam.) to confirm her prescription or if he had just looked to see if the glasses were working like they wanted. The girl took the message and said he'd call back. I called back at 12:30pm, talked to the same girl, expressed my concern once again, explained why I wanted the info--needing to know if we should get a new pair with different prescription or new/repaired pair with same prescription--and asked what his hours were today. She said he was there all day, that she'd given him the note and Braska's chart that morning, and that he might not call back til after his last patient at 3pm, but he would probably be there til 4:30 or 5pm. I was polite and stated again that I didn't want to be a pain, but I really needed to get going on all this. She said she would try to follow up with him on it.
At 4:18pm I looked at the clock, and I told my mother-in-law I would wait til 4:30, so as not to be a bother to them, waiting but still catching them just before they go home. I called right at 4:30pm, on the dot. And of course....they close at 4:30pm, so the phones are already flipped to the recording. Can you say grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr? I was less than pleased, let's just say.
I waited less than patiently til 5pm, thinking maybe he's finishing up after getting done. It happens in my offices, it might be the case here. But no, no call came. I'm kicking myself that I didn't just show up at the office this morning to be seen or at least get a message in person. I'm kicking myself that I didn't at least request a same-day appointment when I talked to them this morning, knowing I could get what I needed that way. These are things I know to do...my job is to know how medical offices work, for heaven's sake! I don't know where my brain was. I just waited and fumed.
So tomorrow, we get up early, drive to the hospital, and sit at the Eye Center till I get what I need. My luck he won't be in on Tuesdays, but that's ok. Someone else can look at the chart and tell me what I need, and I'm sure one of the other optometrists or ophthalmologists can tell me what her current prescriptions should be if it comes to that. I hate having to do this...I can't stand these patients when I'm on the other end. But it's come to that. I'm frustrated, and Braska obviously can't see well without her glasses. She's been rubbing her eyes all day. I put a gauze wrap around the broken end of the ear piece to try to make them somewhat usable, but they don't sit right and she didn't keep them on for long between tosses. I don't blame her, they can't be comfortable that way.
Once we've determined what the correct prescription for right now is, we will go to the other eye center, where we get the tiny glasses ordered or repaired to take the next step. Then we wait 7 to 10 days for the repair or the new pair, so I can drive the 6-hour round trip one more time. In the meantime, I just wish we could rig something to help her see things without straining. Here's hoping that I can accomplish what I need to tomorrow without losing my cool. I think I can, I just wish I'd have been more with it today!
Grrrr is right. I am right there with you. Hindsight is 20/20--no pun intended. Poor little B and her eyes! And poor Mama too! Grrrrr Grrrr double Grrrrr!
ReplyDeleteoh, man, what a day. But you should not beat yourself up about it! You do waaaaaay more than most people would, I think.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get it all straightened out ASAP.
Tricia--Hindsight...nice. Very nice. :o) Poor mama has a headache.
ReplyDeleteCate--Thanks for the pick me up.