Eye Doctor

I went to the eye doctor this afternoon - hadn't been in 2 years, only went because I'm starting to run low on contacts and my script is expired. I went to an optometrist in Eagan - mainly because our insurance plan pays 80/20 for eye exams and I could pay less out of pocket seeing the optometrist. I have to say, I was quite impressed - it was the Yankee Eye Clinic on Duckwood Drive - I always get a little concerned going into a strip mall clinic, but they were very professional, did a ton of tests, and were quite speedy. AND heck - I could have gone next door to buy a gift basket, had the urge struck me. What more could I ask for?

My biggest concern was the glaucoma test. My grandmother had glaucoma, so I always want to be sure my eyes are in good shape. Well, as good as they can be, considering I'm blind as a bat! They have a new test for glaucoma - some fancy scan that will take a photo of your eye and allow the doc to REALLY see what's going on in there. It's $35 and insurance doesn't pay. When you sign in, they have you sign something that says you either want the test or you want to talk with the doc more about it. Initially, I was against it, but then thought to myself - if I have the drops, I'll have to wait around until they go into effect and then I won't be able to see well for hours. I have errands to run, so the extra time and ability to see may be worth $35. I had this long argument with myself during the entire visit and then he never even brought it up. They did the air test (think Rachel on Friends - it made me smile) and he did lots of peeking at my eyes - and said everything looked fine, so I didn't need the other glaucoma tests. So all that rationalizing for nothing! What a waste of good brain time.

I amazed my husband by then running 5 errands in an hour and still getting to pick up our son on time. He's one of those folks that just doesn't multi-task well - he does one job at a time and granted, he does it well, but it still drives me crazy some days.

Great minds think alike!

Just before I put up the posting about Conner and slide-jumping, Scooter posted some video of it...go to his blog to see it!
http://nodtonothing.blogspot.com/

Cabin, the cabin and slide jumping

My folks sold their cabin yesterday - so I'm posting a picture from our last visit there.

I think our digital camera is toast, so the pics for the next few days/weeks will be old ones - sorry! The poor thing is currently in pieces near the A/C - we thought maybe it got too hot or got some moisture in it, so we're letting it air out.

Finally, Sunday night we were at the Poo-Tee-Weet/Scooter household and the kids found a new game - leaping off the top of the slide into a pile of pillows & blankets. There is video somewhere....don't worry, we were monitoring and it was perfectly safe and they had a great time - I'm no a bad mom, really!

Education and now healthcare....

My parents are both retired teachers and it constantly amazes me how many people believe it is up to educators to teach their kids to be "good" people. Don't worry honey, we don't need to talk to the kid about sex, they'll learn in school. We don't need to pay attention to the kid or stop that bad behavior, they'll take care of it in school and teach them everything they need to know about life.
Now it's falling on healthcare providers to take responsibility for ensuring you are healthy. I just read a story about Governor Pawlenty's new plan to hold physicians accountable for making people healthy. So the government will start measuring how individuals with chronic conditions are doing and then hold the physician accountable. We are already tracking this info where I work, as are most provider groups - it's already being measured by every healthplan in town. I think it's a good thing, but I worry things like physicians being measured on whether their patients quit smoking, whether they come in for their clinic visits and whether they are meeting the goals. There will always be patients who just don't care and refuse to take responsibility for their own health - look at all the obese people in our country. Everyone KNOWS it's not healthy to be obese, but they just keep on eating and not exercising - heck, I'm guilty myself! I lost 17 pounds and have gained 5 back.....time to put that chocolate away!
My point is - people need to take responsibility for themselves and their own health - yes, we in healthcare will certainly be happy to help you reach those goals, but don't hold us entirely accountable, because in the end, it's your decision.