Gotta Love the Crossed Eye

I'm going to describe someone to you and you get to guess what his profession is.

Ready?

Alright...

Get set...

Go!

*Enthusiastic
*Motivational
*Friendly
*Lively
*Warm
*Personable
*Knowledgeable
*Thorough
*Intelligent

Any clue yet?

How about:

*Communicative
*Fast Paced
*Quick thinker
*Reassuring
*Science lover
*Fascinated by physics
*Gregarious

And, lastly:

*Sports fan
*Consultant to star athletes like baseball player Christian Guzman, soccer legend Mia Hamm, and former Redskins player, Clinton Portis.
*Has been featured on major news stations

Have you figured out his profession yet?

Well, if you guessed "optometrist," you would be correct.  And if you said, "one who specializes in sports vision," well then, you are a freakin' genius!

Thankfully, this optometrist also works with everyday blokes, including those who are blessed with a crossed eye.

And that would be me.

Turning 40 has brought with it all sorts of interesting problems, only one of which I will mention in this blog.  (And when a crossed eye is your least embarrassing issue, you know things are kind of bad.)  I discovered I had this problem, also known as Esotropia, within two weeks of turning 40, so I absolutely blame it on age.  And why not?  Aging pretty much sucks when it comes to physical deterioration.

I didn't know I had this Esotropia deal until I went to an optometrist, because neither I nor anyone who looked at me could tell that my right eye invariably turned inward.  I just knew it was increasingly difficult for me to focus a few feet in front of me.  Fortunately I found this vision specialist, Dr. Smithson.  Although he mainly deals in Pediatric and Sports Vision Optometry, he has helped little ol' crossed eyed me.

But what really struck me when I first met him was his dynamic and enthusiastic personality.  This is the only health care provider that has made me feel really interested in his area of specialty.  His enthusiasm is catching!  Moreover,  he made me want to do my little exercises that take up precious free time.  If anyone else had told me that I would have to spend several hundred dollars on a software program that eats up 20 minutes of my time every day I would've groaned in agony.  Because seriously, who has the money and time for that??  If it's not going to make me skinnier, richer, smarter or more attractive why bother?  (This is where the superficial side of me rears its ugly head.)

I realized what a persuasive and motivational person he was when I came home and told my husband about the prescribed eye therapy.  Here's a snippet of our conversation:

Husband:  So how did your eye appointment go?  Do you need to be kicked in the head by a mule to make your eye uncross?

Me:  Very funny! Nope,  I have this great new program that is going to fix it.

Husband:  Really?  What?

Me:  It's a software program that I'll use every day to correct my eye from turning inward.  It's kind of like a video game.

Husband:  Hmmm... sounds interesting.  How much did it cost?

Me:  $500.

Husband:  Wow.

Me:  Yeah, it really was expensive.  But it's my eyesight we're talking about!

Husband:  I know, I know, it's fine. But it did cost more than I thought it would.  And what about the time commitment?  How long will it take?

Me:  20 minutes a day for the next few months.

Husband:  Really?


(This is where it starts to dawn on me that perhaps I'd been duped by my eye doctor.  Somehow he'd goaded me into thinking I was fortunate to be doing these eye exercises!)


Me:  Yeah.... I guess it is kind of a raw deal, isn't it?  I hadn't really thought of it that way until now.

And really, it does kind of stink to have to spend time and dollars on this therapy I'd never thought I'd need.  But you know, every time I go in to see Dr. Smithson, he always has a way of encouraging me to keep at my exercises, to keep trying new tricks, to give me different solutions to my obstacles.  In essence, he makes me believe that I can overcome this problem, even when I feel like I'm getting nowhere.  And that positivity helps me keep in mind how fortunate I am to have an alternative to surgery.

So, you may wonder, why am I telling you about all this cross-eyed nonsense?  Because I find it's so refreshing when someone loves what they do, when they take what could be a mundane or boring day of appointments and make it lively and enjoyable for themselves and their patients.  Other optometrists I've seen throughout my life just go through the motions.  They don't seem nearly as captivated by their subject or their patients' problems and definitely not very enthusiastic about helping them overcome those problems.  My guess is they probably don't have a great career fit.   Or, if they do have a fairly good fit, they don't see how they can make it a great fit by tweaking a few things.  Specializing in something they are fascinated by can make all the difference.

Which is why Dr. Smithson has received this kind of praise for his work:

"...one of the most energetic, professional, knowledgeable and most importantly, thorough clinicians I've ever worked with. In any medical discipline."
-Eric Waters Head Athletic Trainer, Washington Wizards

"After my first appointment with Dr. Smithson, it was obvious that he was not your typical eye doctor... Dr. Smithson's experience and personable disposition far exceeded my expectations.... "  

-Brian Bocock Philadelphia Phillies shortstop

Pretty telling, huh?  Coach/motivator/ eye specialist/problem solver is how I'd begin to describe Dr. Smithson.  Can you really label him as just an optometrist?  Of course not.  And that's why I find job titles extremely limiting.  They don't adequately describe what elements allow a person to be outstanding in a given field.

I can see why professional athletes and coaches turn to him for making a difference in their careers .  He followed his talents and his fascinations, which makes him a superstar in his own right.  Who isn't motivated by someone like that?