My wife will probably find it funny, in a twisted, ironic sense, to read that my primary concern was to lift burden from her because I would learn that there was a lot more I could have done, other than the work search I was doing but that I failed or simply refused to do. I don't remember any of that, and that somehow makes it even more sad.
I went for months with no improvement in my vision, even with the glasses. I suggested to my wife that perhaps their prescription needed adjusting, but she thought I should see a medical doctor. I had lost some of my confidence in my Primary Care Physician, and with no health insurance since losing my job. I couldn't afford to just choose any doctor from the telephone book, so I did nothing.
Months passed until, finally, there came a Saturday night in February, 2002 when two strange things happened in early evening. First, my wife drove our son, Taylor, to her sister Donna's, to spend the night because he wanted to spend some time with his cousin, Harrison. This was strange because he had only spent the night with them once before, on his second birthday, when we were all sick and Donna volunteered for Taylor to stay with her to give Sharon time to recuperate. Then, my uncle, Billy, stopped by our house for a visit. This was strange because Billy didn't normally stop by unexpected. The evening got stranger as my uncle, Wiley, and Aunt, Doll, who had spent the day car-shopping for Aunt Doll arrived. They also did not often stop by unless there was some planned event. Soon, the gathering was complete, as my mother, my brother and his fiancée arrived. I then learned, or deduced, that this had been a planned event after all. Everyone had decided that they needed to get together and impress upon me the importance of going to the doctor. With some effort, I was able to convince everyone that my failure to see a doctor was honestly linked to my inability to afford it and not from any lack of concern for my well-being. My aunt had suggested her doctor, Dr. Fullington, because she liked him and thought he would be a good choice for me, but she had already learned that his practice wasn't accepting new patients at that time. So, by evening's end, it was decided that my uncle Wiley would accompany me to the local Immediate Care facility and that he would pay the bill. With that decided, Uncle Wiley and I discussed a time that would be suitable for us both to go and agreed we would meet at the Immediate Care facility the following Monday afternoon.
So, we met on that Monday afternoon, and after a lengthy wait, I was called back to see the doctor. I gave the doctor a quick rundown of my situation, including that I was in his office because I couldn't get an appointment with Dr. Fullington. This had disappointed me, and my disappointment must have been apparent to the doctor I was seeing because, when he left the examination room, he telephoned Dr. Fullington's office and returned with an appointment card. They had apparently made an exception to not accepting new patients because it was a doctor referral. Also, while he was out, a nurse had come into the room and performed a finger stick glucose test. It showed my blood sugar to be well within normal range. When the doctor returned, he suggested I have some blood work done before my visit to Dr. Fullington, and we agreed that I would return to the Immediate Care facility the next morning to have blood drawn for a series of blood tests that would include glucose, liver function, kidney function, PSA (screening for prostate cancer) and other tests. My mother accompanied me to my appointment with Dr. Fullington, saying she would pay for it.
Part Two
Working Towards
A Diagnosis
My visit with him started off amicably enough. I told him I had a number of questions, and I went through my list. Then he began going over the bloodwork results. My blood sugar was high, 130, and since the scale he likes has the high end of normal around 109, he confirmed that I am indeed diabetic. He said however that it wasn't very bad. I asked “Doc, isn't that like being a little bit pregnant. He laughed and said “Not really. With blood sugar no higher than yours, you won't require any medication and should be able to control it with diet. He looked in my eyes with his otoscope then told me the symptoms I described were not consistent with problems associated with diabetes, but to make sure, he said he would refer me to a local ophthalmologist. He said he would write that doctor about my condition but suggested a list of questions I should be sure to ask.
