The Gift of Caring by M. Cottrell S. Houle

Author:M. Cottrell S. Houle [Eckstrom;MD;MPH, Marcy Cottrell Houle;MS;and Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing
Published: 2015-04-13T16:00:00+00:00

• 24 •

I See Little Green Men

“Getting old is not for sissies,” said my mother when I picked her up to take her to an appointment with the eye doctor.

It was true. Last week she’d been to the audiologist to check her hearing aids. The week before it was to her dentist because of an aching tooth that, most likely, would have to be pulled. Then there were the visits to the cardiologist to monitor her atrial fibrillation and mild congestive heart failure; to the urologist to keep up with bladder problems that she’d developed since her TIA; to the internist to prescribe medicine for nausea, dizziness, sleeping, and an underactive thyroid; and now to the ophthalmologist. The result was a medication list that continued expanding longer and longer, like an ever-lengthening paper chain.

Each doctor was treating a part of my mother, but I never felt certain who was looking after the whole person. It almost seemed medical care for an old person was akin to patching up Humpty Dumpty—all the king’s horses and all the king’s men were trying to put the pieces of my mother together again. Often I found myself wishing I could assemble the different specialists on a panel where I could ask questions of them. Together they could also discuss among themselves the composite parts and build an entire portrait of my mother that we could all understand.

But that was unlikely. The real truth was that there was never enough time during the visits to ask a lot of questions. I didn’t blame the physicians; I respected most of them and knew, in today’s healthcare world, they were under the gun to see lots of patients. That meant I had to be the one to try to pull the disparate picture together, which meant asking questions.

Some doctors were more welcoming of queries than others. Some, like the ophthalmologist we were seeing today—a physician distinguished for his work with macular degeneration—were not. With countless research and clinical demands on his time, he had little patience for inconsequential chitchat. He had made that clear on previous visits when I hoped to discuss some things I’d researched on the Internet. When I posed questions, he came back with his own for me:

“Where did you hear that?”

“Where did you get that figure?”

“Just what are you trying to say?”

“So what is your question?”

After that, I was usually too intimidated to continue.

Today, though, was different. Today I had a firm list of questions I really wanted answers to. I could tell my mother’s vision was worse, even with some newer treatments. Not being able to read was making her miserable. And I knew she wasn’t alone.

Macular degeneration is relatively common in old people. It is the leading cause of blindness in older adults. A friend, who was a physician, told me that when people receive the diagnosis of macular degeneration, it could be as devastating as being told they have cancer. Like the loss of other important senses, the threat of blindness looming was terrifying.

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