This entry originally appeared on my disability blog, I hate stairs.
A couple of ideas have been floating around in my head for a few days now. I recently received a comment on my post (well, my brother’s) about Joseph Smith. The commenter is the mother of two sons, one of which is three and a half years old and has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) type 1, the same disease that Joseph has. She has posted a lot of amazing resources, photos, and videos. It has inspired me to write a piece on SMA. I will be doing some reading on that, so expect to see that up soon. I’m also planning to update you on the progress our power soccer team is making. I’m waiting to get my hands on some video that was recorded last practice.
What I am going to share with you now is the funny experience I had at an optometry clinic today. My brother and I are usually together, so we book doctor appointments in back-to-back time slots. We loaded up in the van this morning and headed to our 11 and 11:30 appointments. We checked in, signed some paperwork, then we waited.
After a few minutes, someone came from the back and called, “Watson.” “Which one?” we replied. That’s when they noticed there were two of us and we both used power chairs. Then an episode of mass confusion ensued. “Umm… Thomas… uh… your room isn’t ready yet, it’ll be one moment.” I assume there was only one exam room that was accessible. Finally, my brother (Thomas, we call him “Matt,” his shortened middle name) gets the go ahead to go back.
I continued to wait for about 15 minutes. Then another lady came from the back and called, “Watson.” Although I was sitting right in front of her, she was scanning the room, looking for a Mr. Watson. My chair clicked when I began to move toward her, and she realized I was Mr. Watson. She looked confused. And the closer I got the more perplexed and frightened her expression became. I’m not kidding. It was a face of utter doom. She looked to a lady behind the counter. “Doesn’t he…,” her voice trailed off and she looked back at me, “Your room isn’t ready yet, we’re waiting on your room to free up.”
Fancy service. A clinic that let’s you know your room isn’t ready yet. :-)