The Day I Became "The Karen"

My name is Karen, but really, it's not pronounced the way you are reading it. This is a good thing lately because people are making rather derogatory remarks about Karens.

I recently had my cataracts done, both on the same day. Two days before the surgery I was to start taking two of the three kinds of drops I needed to keep my eyes healthy and heal well after this procedure. The antibiotics drops were fine but another one meant to reduce inflamation made my face itch, my nose bleed, and gave me diarrhea. Worse than that, it made me dizzy. That didn't go away even when I tried to lie down.

I was actually afraid to take any more of the drop that was causing the problem so first thing in the morning I called the ophthalmologist's office. As expected, I just got an answering machine. This was very worrisome since I had left a question several days before and had still not gotten an answer and my surgery was to be the very next day. My hubby decided to go talk to the pharmacist. They are very helpful at our local drug store and offered to try faxing the ophthalmologist's office as that might get through sooner. The pharmacist also said that of the three drops I would be taking, the one that was causing the problem was the least important.  

Meanwhile, the hospital phoned with the time for me to show up for my surgery and I explained the problem to them too. The lady said she would also try to reach the doctor but that she would be calling the same line as me so suggested I just keep trying.  

I don't know which message the office eventually got but someone finally phoned and told me it was okay to discontinue that particular drop and repeated what the pharmacist said. It was the least important of them all. That was a relief!

The day after the surgery I had to go for a follow-up appointment at the ophthalmologist's office.  I presented my health card, and the receptionist looked at it and said, "Oh, The Karen!"  I told her I was sorry if I was coming at her from all directions but timing was of the essence and not knowing what to do was the most nerve-wracking thing about this surgery. 

I have never been so glad that my dad named me after a Norwegian lady he knew.  I will definitely be correcting people's pronunciation of my name until all this blows over.