Years ago we had a ….
Years ago we had a young man by the name of Ken Neumann working for us as the Spencer editor. He did an excellent job for what he could do as he was handicapped and in a wheelchair. This was before recognizing handicapped people was popular.
If he did have a bad habit it might be he would call me on a busy Tuesday for no real reason and take up my time. One Tuesday I was right in the middle of something and he called. He was wondering, since it was National Handicapped Month, why I hadn’t said anything. Without thinking I said because of my handicaps, I didn’t want to call attention to them. To which he came right back wondering what they were? I said, “I can’t see and I can’t hear”.
He only replied, “Oh” and said nothing more.
My hearing aids had been giving me trouble. So I took them back to the Marshfield Clinic where I brought them thinking they just needed cleaning. The gentleman there took them in and came back to say my left aid was shot and the right one wasn’t much better.
Since it had been awhile, I had to have another hearing test which resulted in some good and bad news. My hearing had gotten worse, but the good news, he would try to find some aids to help out.
Well, he did, but it took eight weeks to get them built and I got them today. I was shocked. I never knew my directional lights made a noise when I used them. I was equally shocked when I got back to my room and heard myself talk again for the first time. Even the young lady bringing my supper was pretty loud, I thought.
Then I turned on the television and had to lower the volume from 38 to 15 and I heard everything, even without moving my chair closer. And the noise from out in the hall was simply overbearing, so I closed the door.
Thus ended my hearing problems, thank goodness.
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Now my eyesight problem is another matter. Many years ago I always went to Dr. Harvey in Neillsville. One day he told me he had a concern and it wasn’t anything he could handle. So he referred me to the Marshfield Clinic and I found myself with a Dr. Trad. He checked me over and annual visits were scheduled. At one point he recommended my cataracts be removed.
What a difference that made. I saw things on the dashboard I never knew were there. So an annual appointment became the order of the day and most years I never even had to have new glasses.
I’d skimmed by for a number of years, but last year he suggested I get new glasses, handed me the prescription and announced he was retiring at the end of the year.
So this year it meant meeting a new doctor and as always the clinic has been Johnny on the Spot to inform me of my appointments. Sometimes more than one, but never missed an appointment.
My appointment came, Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 12:45 p.m. The problem with the eye exam is the drops they put in your eyes, which may create a problem when you leave. Special dark glasses are furnished and I always used that as an excuse to visit the coffee shop in the lobby before going outside – just in case.
A problem developed as my special driver had taken off for sunny Florida to deal with some damage from a guy or gal named Ian. As I discussed the problem with people here at the Living Center, they said, no problem, they would schedule a ride.
So the 26th came, the ride scheduled for 11:45 never showed up so I went out to see what was happening. A Comfort Carrier van was parked in front and they said I should get in the back seat as a big guy was coming to sit up front. He came and we pulled out of the driveway. The driver started checking where we were going and got confused, so we stopped on the ramp over Highway 29. Come to find out, I was going to the Marshfield Clinic, the other gentlemen to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls. A bit of a problem. Another Comfort Carrier arrived shortly and took me and off we went. We arrived at the clinic just at noon and I got checked in. I didn’t even have time to catch my breath and was taken into the eye doctor’s examining room. The nurse started asking questions, one of which was, was I going to pay for this exam?
She explained it hadn’t been a year so the insurance wouldn’t cover it. In checking I had seen Dr. Trad on Nov. 4, so it appeared to be the clinic error in scheduling, which means I will have the exam, come Nov. 25 the day after Thanksgiving Day.
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I voted earlier this week. But when I turn on the television I’m still seeing all those terrible political ads. Isn’t there some way they can be deleted from my television?
As someone said, the election next week isn’t going to solve anything. The ads will just shift to 2024.
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As a follow up on my new hearing aids, I really was excited to wait for Sunday morning to come and see how our service from Trinity Lutheran Church would come out. It was amazing almost beyond belief.
Then the other good news is Security Health will pick up 80 percent of the cost.
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I just read on Facebook this morning that we no longer have any old ladies. We have Queen-agers.
