BY CHANCE

I met a man last week, quite by chance. We were about 5 feet apart, standing in the street, trying to hail a cab. The rain had not yet started plummeting Duval Circle but was on its way. At last a cab pulled over, stopping between us. The stranger opened the door for me, held it steady in the wind, bowed ever so slightly, and motioned for me to enter. There was no chance for me to say ‘thank you,’ as in an eye’s blink, he was sitting beside me. He put a black bag on the floor between his feet, placed his hands on his lap, and asked where I was headed. My voice was loud enough for the cabbie to hear, ‘1719 N.E. Rittenhouse Square, please.’

The cabbie asked the gentleman, ‘And you, Mister?’ ‘ Saradon Hospital, Emergency Entrance. That’s S.E. from here.’ ‘Mr., I know where it is. Do you two want to toss a coin to see which way I go?’ ‘No, Driver. I’m not in a hurry. If need be, by all means, go to the hospital first.’ A hand and a smile reached me. ‘I’m Dr. Caldwell and do have a patient waiting for me. Ending with a question mark, he said, ‘Thank you-- Miss? I’ll cover the fare.’ The cabbie braked and made a U turn. We headed S.E. ‘Jane Doe. Really doctor. Jane Doe. Don’t laugh. It’s been a load to carry all these years.’

‘Miss Doe, may I be so bold as to ask why you are crying?’ ‘What are you talking about? I’m not crying.’ At the emergency entrance Dr. Faery only had time to hand me his card, pay the fare and ask me to call him. I didn’t respond and he didn’t look back.

At home, I looked in the mirror. My eyes were not red, not blood shot. Why had the doctor thought I was crying? All I could see in my magnifying glass was a very pretty blue right eye and equally pretty one in the left. They both were shiny, moist. As I stared at myself, a small tear drop slithered from my right eye. Then another dribbled from the left. I blamed it on reading too many fashion mags, fast read detective stories. My delicious vegetable soup that I had left out to thaw in the morning just waited for me to set the microwave timer to 2 min. The doctor’s card in my purse began to call to me. It was an ordinary but classy looking card, George Caldwell, M.D., F.S.C.S. Board Certified & Fellow American College of Surgeons and American Academy of Ophthalmology - Saradon Hospital, Chevy Chase, MD. 21212 410-365-5544.

I began to get nervous. What did he see without examining me? Waiting until morning would be forever but that is what I did. At 10 a.m. the answering machine took my message to have Dr. Caldwell call when he gets a moment. His ‘moment’ didn’t come until the next afternoon. He was pleasant and turned me over to his secretary for an appointment the following Wednesday. I liked his voice and remembered his smile. I couldn’t help myself but wondered if there is a Mrs. George Caldwell.

‘Nice to see you again, Miss Doe. When did you have your eyes checked last?’ I felt a chill in his voice. My reply sounded stupid even to me. ‘No idea. I see fine.’ ‘Your neglect is wrong. What is more important than sight?’ ‘Dr. Caldwell, I do appreciate your seeing me but I really don’t want a lecture.’ That’s when his back went up. I had not been nice. ‘Well, listen anyhow. It is quite simple to start. You have ‘dry eyes’ and if you neglect yourself it is going to worsen. In fact, shut your ears if you don’t want to know. You will have them as long as you live and they do get worse unless you keep them moist. Do you want to hear how?’

Ungrateful me, I replied, ‘No, I don’t,’ and started to leave. The almighty Dr. Caldwell asked me to cool off, sit down and listen to him.Reluctantly, I did. ‘The tear ducts in your eyes are not working full time. They are dry, need liquid. You may go to as many ophthalmologists as you like, but will get the same diagnosis. This is what you must do. Use warm to hot compresses on them, a minimum of twice a day. Wait a minute or two after each and put one drop of any brand of dry eye drops you learn to prefer in each eye, as often as you like. They will do no harm and do give relief. My nurse will give you written instructions on how to correctly put the drops in. She’ll also give you some samples to test.’ He went on without a pause. ‘Miss Doe, there is no charge for this visit. If you choose to return for proper eye care, I will be glad to have you as a patient. You are free to choose the brand of drops and doctor.’

I apologized for my rudeness and thanked him for the information. He shook my hand and I left. Suddenly it seemed ½ of the people I know have dry eyes. The super market shelves, pharmacies, bulge with dozens of brands, I had never heard of. The competition is every bit as wild as Coke/Pepsi.

After a month of wasting more drops on my cheeks than went in my eyes, I chose GenTeal as the most comfortable drops for me and made another appointment with Dr. Caldwell. After a full eye check up by several techs and the doctor, I had to start wearing reading glasses.

No fool I. I complained more than I should about the glasses and the drops, insisting on seeing Dr. Caldwell each appointment. Finally I stopped the sham as he became more to me than my doctor.

And after 6 months I stopped going to his office any more. He began coming to me. I’ve fixed meals, handled his other needs and he has never sent me a bill. Good deal all around. We both ended up winners.