THANK YOU TO READERS AND THOSE WHO SERVE OUR COUNTRY

FOR A while this past year, I have used this bully pulpit to poke fun at the profession, the patients and — more often than not — myself. I appreciate those who have taken the time to write words of encouragement and type comments of disapproval. If this was a book, I would have a dedication that reads:

I would like to thank the readers — of whom I neither think about when I am writing nor do I care whether I offend. I commend the effort you put forth on a monthly basis, and hope that my muse somehow reminds you that there are crazier, more intelligently disabled and self-consumed people than those you see every day. Namely, me. Keep up the fight, don’t let the man bring you down, #feminism, or force you to wear pantsuits when you want to go commando and know that the sum is greater than the parts. Basically, don’t take yourself or opinions too seriously. Smile more.

A lot of the news cycle these past few months has centered around thanking those who choose a career to serve and make the ultimate sacrifice. You know who I am talking about: Those people who work civil service jobs, make minimal salaries and, oftentimes, put themselves at some form of risk.

We have some admirable people in our profession as well. What I am specifically referring to is those who work at the Veterans Administration (VA) or serve in the military.

OPTOMETRIC SERVICE

I did a stint at a VA during my fourth year of optometry school, and my tour was rough. Patients were entitled to eye evaluations when admitted. Thus, even though the patient was in the hospital for, let’s say, a facial reconstruction, and his mouth was wired shut, and one eye patched — he would be rolled in on a gurney for that one-eye exam.

The four months I spent at the VA felt like the longest decade of my life. The staff was overworked, and there was an endless supply of patients.

Sadly, patients were brought to see me while they were still under the influence of anesthesia. (I was previously unaware that people could fall asleep mid-sentence, “TZV...,” that catheters can burst and that being vomited on is not like being hit with lightening — it can happen twice in one day.

Do not get me wrong. I was rewarded with a plethora of ocular disease management and patients who were more grateful than any I have ever encountered. It was hard and extremely rewarding.

Even now, I marvel at my VA peeps, like my friend Steve Ferrucci, who continue to embrace this form of optometric practice. Their loyalty to our veterans is most notable in the continued dedication to our profession, the unquenching thirst for knowledge and willingness to share at the podium and through publications. Dr. Ferrucci and his VA colleagues make me proud to know that O.D.s are the bedrock of veterans’ ophthalmic health care.

THANK YOU

So, yes, I am appreciative of my small cadre of readers, my parents, for waiting the extra 10 minutes after my twin sister was born and to O.D.s, like Steve (although he has the creepiest Bitmoji).

For all of you who allow me to continue to scrawl, I thank you. To my fellow O.D.s who serve, thank you, especially Dr. Ferrucci, to whom I say: You have to get the No. 4. Trust me! OM

DR. BLOOMENSTEIN practices at Schwartz Laser Eye Center in Scottsdale, Ariz. He is a founding member of the Optometric Council on Refractive Technology. He is a speaker and advisory board member for: Akorn, Allergan, AMO, Bausch + Lomb, Lunovus, OcuSoft, Shire and TearLab. Email him at mbloomenstein@gmail.com.