My annual eye appointment at Southside Eye Care turned into an inspiring adventure. I did not expect that when my ophthalmologist, Dr. Mike Keverline, gave me the good news that he would only need to see me next year, it would not be the highlight of my visit. Two events preceding his evaluation inspired me.
In the first segment of my eye evaluation, assistant Ann Parker administered the basic eye test that turned out to be 20/25. We chatted as she wrote my results, noting our journeys with medical conditions- non-eye-related- and she made a statement that reached out and grabbed me. "We can have a disease without the disease having us!" A simple declaration with such wisdom.
Southside Eye Care's Clinical Director, Ann Parker
I asked Ann if I could quote her in my monthly column to share that wisdom, and she graciously agreed. Her simple statement is a powerful tool we can adopt for living with any conditions that might exist, but do not define or become who we are.
"We can have a disease
without the disease having us!"
without the disease having us!"
The second inspiring surprise came when I was shown
into another examining room where I noticed a most unusual painting of
an elephant. The young man who had led me to the room commented on the
painting. "That was painted by an elephant," he noted, adding as he
pointed to a photograph of an elephant, "And this is the elephant who
painted it."
"What?"
When Dr. Keverline came into the room, I was more eager to hear the elephant story than to know if my eyes were good to go! He indulged my curiosity.
"Then I was told that all the paintings of elephants,
were done by elephants."
With a wry smile, the physician commented,
"Yeah, Right!"
were done by elephants."
With a wry smile, the physician commented,
"Yeah, Right!"
"In 2013, I was vacationing in Thailand when I went
into a shop with paintings of elephants," the doctor reported. "Then I
was told that all the paintings of elephants, were done by elephants." With a wry smile, the physician commented, "Yeah, Right!"
Southside Eye Care's Dr. Michael Keverline
"I had to buy this painting," the adventurous
ophthalmologist explained with a smile. I was convinced and delighted. I
asked if he would allow me to share this adventure with you.
Two inspiring events in one happy visit was such a
bonus. One conversation defining how patients can live with any
condition. A second eye opener pointing out animals need not have limits
just because we thought they did!
Jean Loxley-Barnard has been a writer all her life and studied both sociology and psychology at George Washington University where she earned a B.A. Her company, The Shopper, Inc., encompasses all the Loxley-Barnard family publications - The Shopper Magazines and Doctor to Doctor Magazine. She has been in the advertising, consulting and publishing business for 39 years.