“Where are you now?”
Senior Moments by
Charles P. Eberson
I wrote in a previous column some months ago regarding the technician at my doctor’s office asking me to answer a few questions before my physician came in. “Had I fallen in the last six months? Do I ever feel anxious or depressed? Have I been hospitalized in the last six months?” I have come to accept that these are routine questions for someone in my age bracket, so I anticipated a similar line of questioning at this visit which, in fact, was the case. Who today with what is going on in the news, isn’t feeling anxious and/or depressed but for the sake of my medical records, I played it down. Then she asked me what year it was. I was so startled by the question, I reflexively blurted out 2010! I could see her reaction even behind her mask and I quickly corrected myself. I was shaken and the hamster wheel started spinning. She then asked what state, county and city I was in which thank goodness I didn’t flub up. She told me three words and asked that I repeat them back to her. That was easy. “Spell WORLD backwards.” No problem. “Do you know where you are?” Now I fall back into my default overthinking mode. I already told her what state, county, city I was in. Was this a trick question? What was she up to? I hesitantly answered, “my doctor’s office” which apparently was the answer she was looking for. I was then given a blank piece of paper and asked to write a complete sentence. I wrote, “I can’t believe I have to do this” which brought no reaction whatsoever. Then she asked me what the three words were she asked me to repeat in the beginning. With my head spinning at all of this I did not remember any of them. I wanted to say I was listening to her like a husband does but I don’t think that would have sat well with her. The interview continued with her handing me piece of paper with a line drawing of two into locking pentagons. She asked me to draw the same thing which I did and proudly handed the paper back to her. “What is the month, day and date today.” I don’t think a twenty something individual would grasp what the retirement world is like. With no deadlines, no schedule, no Monday through Friday grind, every day is Sunday. The only dates that are worth remembering are birthdays and anniversaries. Mercifully, days flow by without me even marking the passage of time but since I knew the month, day and date of my appointment I was able to answer correctly. Finally, the interrogation was over, she packed up her notes and turned to me and said, “lets take your blood pressure.”
Charles Eberson has been in the newspaper business for over 25 years. He has worked as a writer, advertising executive, circulation manager and photographer. His photography can be viewed at www.charles-eberson.fineartamerica.com
