The Optometrist
I thought I had gotten over the shock factor in Wrangell, which is why my blog entries have been spare. When I started this blog, I wrote about the oddities of living in Alaska, the strange things I encountered in everyday life. But as Wrangell became more and more a part of me, and me more and more a part of Wrangell, these so-called strange things stopped seeming so strange. Maybe I am a southeast Alaskan convert.
But then it happened. A week or so ago, I saw something so Alaskan and so strange, it made me once again feel like an outsider.
I had an appointment with an optometrist. Many specialty doctors – optometrists, gynecologists, dermatologists, even vets – only visit Wrangell. They are traveling doctors. This is common in many rural places in Alaska. Every so often in the paper, there’s a small schedule of what visiting doctors are in town. A couple of our regular doctors in Wrangell travel to neighboring Prince of Wales island a few times a year and see people in those more remote towns. This is a way of life in southeast Alaska and in many parts of the state. This is nothing new to me. The first time I saw an optometrist in Alaska, it was a visiting one.
Most of the visiting doctors set up shop downstairs in the hospital. This makes sense as there is space and it’s within a medical setting. That’s where I saw my first visiting optometrist.
This second time was different. Their mailer said they would be in the Stikine Inn, the only hotel in Wrangell. I figured they would be in the Fireview Room, where most public functions are held (this is where my mom met Senator Stevens). But when I got to the Stikine Inn, I was told they were in room 357, upstairs and down the hall. I figured room 357 was a conference room of sorts. I was wrong. I go upstairs, down the hall and see a sign pointing to the room. I walk in and see a normal hotel room – double beds and everything – except there are cases of glasses sprawled out on the beds and two men talking by a laptop. I proclaim when I get there, “This is weird,” because that’s how strange I found the situation.
Prism Optical was set up in two hotel rooms. One room for the optician and the glasses, the other room for the optometrist and the actual eye equipment, the eye chart. When I sat in the chair behind the big eye machine, the doctor sat on the edge of the bed filling in my chart. The room was dark, of course. To my right under the desk was the doctor’s luggage.
The optician and the optometrist were as professional as ever. Apparently, the two hotel rooms was not the oddest set up for them. They’ve traveled to many rural places in Alaska and have had all sorts of accommodations.
But for me, it was a first.
But then it happened. A week or so ago, I saw something so Alaskan and so strange, it made me once again feel like an outsider.
I had an appointment with an optometrist. Many specialty doctors – optometrists, gynecologists, dermatologists, even vets – only visit Wrangell. They are traveling doctors. This is common in many rural places in Alaska. Every so often in the paper, there’s a small schedule of what visiting doctors are in town. A couple of our regular doctors in Wrangell travel to neighboring Prince of Wales island a few times a year and see people in those more remote towns. This is a way of life in southeast Alaska and in many parts of the state. This is nothing new to me. The first time I saw an optometrist in Alaska, it was a visiting one.
Most of the visiting doctors set up shop downstairs in the hospital. This makes sense as there is space and it’s within a medical setting. That’s where I saw my first visiting optometrist.
This second time was different. Their mailer said they would be in the Stikine Inn, the only hotel in Wrangell. I figured they would be in the Fireview Room, where most public functions are held (this is where my mom met Senator Stevens). But when I got to the Stikine Inn, I was told they were in room 357, upstairs and down the hall. I figured room 357 was a conference room of sorts. I was wrong. I go upstairs, down the hall and see a sign pointing to the room. I walk in and see a normal hotel room – double beds and everything – except there are cases of glasses sprawled out on the beds and two men talking by a laptop. I proclaim when I get there, “This is weird,” because that’s how strange I found the situation.
Prism Optical was set up in two hotel rooms. One room for the optician and the glasses, the other room for the optometrist and the actual eye equipment, the eye chart. When I sat in the chair behind the big eye machine, the doctor sat on the edge of the bed filling in my chart. The room was dark, of course. To my right under the desk was the doctor’s luggage.
The optician and the optometrist were as professional as ever. Apparently, the two hotel rooms was not the oddest set up for them. They’ve traveled to many rural places in Alaska and have had all sorts of accommodations.
But for me, it was a first.
posted by Siapiau | 5:52 PM
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