Eye'll Be Seeing You
Lasers are Cool
There are things you never want to hear. You don't want to hear the siren right after you decided the light was amber enough to charge through the intersection. Just after the elevator doors close, you do not want to hear the sharp twang of a metal cable snapping.
And, as the ophthalmologist is looking deep into your eye, you do not want to hear, "It's gotten worse."
A little more than a year ago my regular eye doctor noticed what he called a "narrow angle" in both of my eyes. He was talking about the drainage angle, the structure inside the eye that permits fluid to drain normally. The danger of a narrow angle is that it can prevent the fluid from draining, which results in a build-up of pressure inside the eye. This leads to narrow-angle glaucoma.
According to Dr. Russel Lazarus in an article on the Optometrists Network:
Narrow-angle glaucoma is a type of glaucoma that develops suddenly and can lead to sudden and permanent loss of sight.
Narrow-angle glaucoma is the cause of less than 10% of all glaucoma diagnosis, but can cause immense pain and sudden loss of sight and even blindness.
So, wheee.
Naturally this all came up two days after my dentist seemed excited to find an old crown needed some repair, and as long as he's "working on that side of your mouth I might as well do some proactive work on a couple of other teeth."
Sure, why not.
I'm really not concerned about the dentist or the eye surgery. These are trained professionals, skilled at their trade. They'll get everything fixed. What galls me is the timing. I fully expected to have already given my two-weeks notice at work by now and be retired by the end of July. Now I have to wait for all of the insurance claims to clear.
The delays are driving me crazy. About a year ago I wanted to retire at the end of 2022. My 401(k) was doing well and if things continued along their projected trajectory I would be set. But, as (my) luck would have it the market crashed and my retirement fund reset to the last saved position, somewhere around 2019.
I guess I should be honored that the universe is so focused on me, but I wouldn't mind if it went back to watching the sparrow.
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