I had been having some trouble focusing my eyes on reading since May, so I made it a point in my annual checkup visits to ask for a referral to my ophthalmologist. I had mentioned to Nancy that there was something going on in my right eye, but that’s about all. Dr. Boothe saw me on July 31, and said he wanted a retina specialist to see me — Kevin Allison. The referral diagnosis was “retinal edema.”
Scheduling issues prevented me from seeing him until Aug. 20. Because I have a church assignment on Wednesdays, I was watching the clock as the afternoon appointment drew on. I left the doctor’s office some time after 4, headed for home with several conversations going on in my head at once. I thought I had understood Dr. Allison to suggest I would likely lose my eye, and that that might only be the beginning. Do I call Nancy in Phoenix and tell her, or do I wait until she returns? Do I have time to eat dinner? Should I stay home tonight? What does all this mean?
I finally decided that there was no better place to be at such a time than the House of the Lord, and that I needed to call Nancy now. So I grabbed my headset and called her as I left the house for the temple. I was concerned about her response — she was understandably distressed. I think she agreed that there was no better place for me to be than the temple, and she asked that I call when I got home.
I did. And then I composed an e-mail to family, which I sent out late Wednesday.