My final appointment with Dr. Cooperman, the specialist who operated on my right eye, was on Wednesday. The vision in my right eye checked out at 20-30, and I was able to discern one letter on the 20-25 line. This is nothing short of amazing to me, since four weeks earlier to the day, I could not see a thing out of my right eye, not even the large capital letter E on the eye chart. Dr. Cooperman told me it is all right for me to resume swimming laps, to continue taking the drops he had prescribed for me, and that he was releasing me back to my regular opthamologist.
This was good news, of course, but also sad in a way. I will miss Dr. Cooperman, the man to whom I owe the sight of my right eye. Over the course of my 12 appointments with him, I found him to be not only highly competent, but a man of concern for his patient. He always greeted me cordially. He started each appointment by shaking my hand. He never rushed; he'd sit and listen to all my questions or concerns and give me answers I could understand.
His examinations were always thorough, so I was confident about everything he said. When he told me he was no longer looking at an infected eye, I believed him. When he said my eye was free of infection and inflammation cells, I believed him. And when he said he believed my eye will continue to improve, I believed him.
He has a dry sense of humor and a quick wit, yet was always 100% a professional. Shortly after the surgery when he saw improvement, he said I was not out of the woods yet. When he saw more improvement on the following visit, I jokingly asked him to put it in terms of where I was relative to the woods. He said I was close to the sidewalk! So this became sort of a running joke.
I like the way his office is run. As patient, I felt I was getting individual and personal attention rather then feeling as though I was on an assembly line. I would recommend Dr. Cooperman to anyone, and I was disappointed to learn that he doesn't do general opthamology. His business card says: "Diseases & Surgery of the Retina, Vitreous, and Macula." I hope I never need his services again, this was not fun. But if I do, I will have 100% confidence that I will be getting the best medical attention possible.
Thank you, Dr. Cooperman. I will never forget you.
What wonderful news. This is truly a miracle for your sight to be back to normal.
ReplyDeleteAs I read your post, I was reminded of how often medical professionals get complaints but how infrequently they receive compliments in written form.
So why not send this post to Dr. Cooperman via a letter so he will have it in front of him and can refer to it whenever he has a down day.
In all my nursing career, I received just one thank you letter which made a huge impression on me. In the note, my patient made a comment similar to yours...."I will never forget you." I framed it and had it on my desk for years.
It meant a great deal to me and I know such a letter will mean just as much to Dr. C.
Mary Ann B.