I had my first video doctor’s conference today. Amy, my nurse practitioner, sent me a video link by text, my iPhone 11 hooked right up to her office and she popped up on my phone screen.

I was uncertain about it, I value face to face talks with my doctor, we usually have things to discuss. I especially value my time with Amy, she is bright, honest, and helpful.

She senses when I am uncomfortable talking about something and makes me feel at ease. She thought the Pandemic may have altered medicine in many permanent ways – one of them is the video visit.

I came to her office for blood tests, and she liked the results she saw. If she didn’t, I would have been asked to come in. The video visit saved both of us time and is safer than an office visit for both of us right now.

We always talk books for a few minutes before we get to the medical stuff.

I had a cup of tea and some notebook paper by my phone, which I tilted up against a candle holder. We could see and hear one another clearly, and I thought once again of how much technology has altered and shaped my life.

I missed seeing Amy, I enjoy talking with her.

Amy said that during the first days of the lockdown, she saw very few patients, not the practice is opening up once more. But she doubted things would return to normal anytime soon

But I didn’t miss the hour driving or the wait in the waiting room. The day before, a nurse called and went over my medicines and that morning another nurse called to make sure the link worked and to go over my insurance.

The big news for me was that I can stop taking the diuretic I took to keep my blood sugar down and for my heart.  The medicine was disruptive and had a bunch of side effects.

I am always happy to take fewer medications rather than more.

My diabetes is under very good control, she said, let’s try it without the diuretics, I was very happy to hear that. I monitor my blood sugar closely and am very conscious of what I eat.

Since the Pandemic I found myself having some pie two or three times a week and some ice cream. That didn’t cause any problems, but I want to watch my blood carefully if I stop taking the diuretics, which I did this morning.

Secondly, I might try taking some short term insulin before meals, as I got older, she said, and without the diuretics, this could get my very low numbers more even throughout the day, when I do a very little testing. We’ll do some now and see what we find.

I guess the bigger news is that I’m going to see an orthopedist next week about my knees, which have been causing me some pain and stiffness when I walk or bend. I’m thinking I might need one or both knees replaced if that’s feasible, I love walking and it’s gotten harder lately.

I want to confront that before it gets worse.

Amy thought it was a good idea. Walking is important.

A few years ago, I fell and broke my kneecap up at the other farm one winter.

I never went to a doctor about it, and I have a permanent hobble. There might be a lot of arthritis there now, it’s  never fully recovered. So we’ll see. I might not be a candidate for a knee replacement and I was always determined to keep my natural parts intact.

But I love walking and that’s important to my health also. I have no squawks about getting older, but there is a need to take care of my body in a different way.

There are two words I particularly hate and they are “never” and “always.” Both help one’s mind to go rigid and rarely apply over a lifetime.

I appreciate Amy. She listens and considers what I say. She is open and interesting. I also showed her my right hand, where I was stung the other day.

It’s still swollen a bit, and I am still having an allergic reaction to the bite. She suggested some new medicine to reduce the swelling further. So my first video visit was productive and valuable. I told Amy I wouldn’t be happy if I never saw her face to face again, she said she wouldn’t like that either.

But for now, this is the way we’ll meet. As promised the Pandemic is changing life for many of  us.