YEARLY CHECKUP
Are You At Risk?
My recent appointment started off like all my other yearly checkups. I piled my coat & purse on the chair by the scale and kicked off my shoes so I could get rid of any extra weight. And then I tried to stretch my neck to get all the height I could.
But when we went into the examining room, I started to get suspicious because the nurse said, “Remember these three words: banana, sunset, couch.” I immediately broke out in a sweat, and my blood pressure started bouncing all around.
I had heard all about the Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visit to detect Seniors’ health risks and cognitive impairment from friends. But I had never experienced it, even though HRA had become a popular screening tool since the Affordable Care Act in 2011.
As I sat down in a chair, I wondered if the nurse thought I was tipsy because she asked, “How many alcoholic drinks do you have a week?” I had just gotten over vertigo and was still a bit dizzy; I hoped I didn’t look that unsteady. “What were those 3 words I told you to remember?”
Oh, Dear Lord, help me remember them.
“Do you have any throw rugs in your house?”
“Do you have smoke alarms?”
“What do you do for physical activity?
“Do you snack?”
“What were those 3 words I told you to remember?”
Oh, Dear Lord, help me remember them.
I was relieved when the doctor finally walked in. I had been wanting to ask her about the dizziness. When she was looking in my ears I said, “Hey, I’m still having a bit of dizziness after those 4 Epley Maneuvers. Sometimes I can feel tingling in my feet with it.”
She looked at me with compassion, “Are you depressed? Do you feel anxious?”
What?!? I guess the Health Risk Assessment wasn’t over yet.
As she left the room, she turned back and said, “You have a mild case of orthostatic hypotension. Drink more water.”
I smirked back, “ Banana, sunset, couch.”
And she grinned.
It’ll Be Ok.
A September Sunset in Greece ‘23
~~~
“Isn’t it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do “practice.” ~ George Carline
COMMENT: DO DOCTOR VISITS MAKE YOU NERVOUS?
No, yearly visits. Do not make me nervous. Going to the doctor doesn’t make me nervous. I love my doctor. She is so nice and she has been so attentive to me in the last five years that I have been going to see her. And I also like her PA, I’m just as comfortable with her as I am my doctor. Maybe it helps that they’re both females. But I can relate about trying to remember the three words they tell you to. I freaked out about that, But in the end, I also remembered them. Blessings and great story. Thank you for sharing.
Getting older is not a laughing matter...usually! Seeing the world through your eyes always makes me smile.