Zig Ziglar
Life begins at 40 - but so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eyesight, and the tendency to tell a story to the same person, three or four times.
Helen Rowland
My eyesight's gone, my reflexes are shot, and I can't stay awake, but thank God I can still drive.
Robert Breault
Last week the optometrist’s office called to remind my husband it was time for his two year check up. While I had them on the phone, I mentioned that I was past due for my yearly diabetic eye check. I was told “So sad, too bad, you can’t have one.”
You see, starting on September 1, optometrists in Ontario have been withholding their services from patients covered for eye care under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan. This includes children under 19, seniors over 65, and those with certain eye conditions, like me with my diabetes. The Ontario Association of Optometrists made this decision because they feel they’re not being reimbursed enough from OHIP for their services.
So I asked, if we could no longer have eye examinations, why were they calling my husband. Turns out my husband can have his eyes examined because he’s not a senior and he pays for it himself.
I was more than willing to pay for my exam – I suspect my eye sight has changed over the last year and I really needed my eyes checked. But no, me paying for it on my own isn’t allowed. I guess just being on the OHIP list makes you personae non grata.
What bothers me even more about this, is the fact that my granddaughter is starting to have trouble seeing the black board at school and she can’t have her eyes checked either because of her age – she’s covered by OHIP. And again, they won’t let my daughter just pay for the exam or use her benefits from work to cover it.
But . . . I was talking to a friend last week and she’s heard that if you get your doctor to refer you to an ophthalmologist, you can get your eyes checked by them. I have a (phone) appointment with my doctor this Friday, it might be worth mentioning.
And it’s also worth mentioning to my doctor that I think the “timed eating” thing the substitute doctor put me on is a bust. I maintained my weight, but my A1C went up instead of down. In fact, it’s the highest it’s ever been, and I refuse to believe it’s my all my fault. The timed eating thing goes against everything I was told when I was first diagnosed with diabetes.
My blood pressure’s gone up too, not surprising.
But you know what’s good for lowering your blood pressure? Snuggles with a puppy.
Meet Omega. He’s a ten-week-old, purebred yellow lab puppy, and the newest addition to my daughter’s family. We drove up to the kennel on Wednesday to pick him up. The daughter had already been on the list for a puppy before Bishop got so sick. With the pandemic restrictions being eased up, she figured he could use some company. And maybe even teach the next generation some of his good habits.
But alas, it was not to be. And then the breeder had to let the daughter know that the breeding didn’t take, so there were no puppies yet. The daughter told her about Bishop, and the breeder said she had one puppy that she just got that she was intending to show and later breed, but health issues were going to prevent her from doing so. As much as she was loathe to let him go, she thought the daughter would be able to provide a good home for him (which is why she jumped her to the head of the puppy list.)
He is darn near perfect. First of all, he’s a yellow lab instead of black, so people aren’t going to confuse him with Bishop. He was a good traveler – a couple of whimpers when he was put in the crate, but not a peep out of him during the two hour car ride home, and he never got car sick.
He’s clumsy and friendly and totally in love with his new family, especially the youngest human. He’s already housebroken, and knows a few basic commands. AND, and this is the most important part, the crotchety, elderly cat loves him.
Clearly, it was meant to be.
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