Thanks for the encouragement, Amanda! This chapter is for you. :) My thanks also to Intinerent Cryptographer and Cerm for beta reading this section.
Danny sat on the edge of his seat in the doctor's private office, tapping his foot as he looked at the man's power wall of diplomas and awards. "Where is Dr. Greene?" he asked for the third time.
Jesse, who had just undergone an extensive exam for glaucoma, shook his head. Since his eyes were still dilated, he wore dark sunglasses. His arms and legs were crossed in a knot and his frown was so deep that it was almost a scowl.
Twenty minutes later, the doctor finally entered the room and shook hands with Jesse and Danny. "Your visual field test was normal and there is no evidence of optic nerve damage." Dr. Greene dropped Jesse's file on his desk and sat down in his plush office chair opposite the two men.
"So, I don't have glaucoma then." Jesse exhaled, relaxed his posture, and shared a smile with Danny. "That's great! I guess we're done here." He stood up.
The doctor regarded Jesse with a frown. "One out of ten patients with ocular hypertension like yours develops visual field loss within ten years."
Jesse's smile evaporated and he slowly sat back down. "What does that mean?"
Dr. Greene leaned forward in his chair. "It means that you need to come back regularly for follow-up appointments, Mr. Katsopolis. You're what we refer to as a glaucoma suspect. Your corneas are somewhat thin and your eye pressure readings are consistently above normal." The doctor caught Jesse's wandering gaze and held it. "You are at risk of developing glaucoma. The earlier we catch it, the less damage it will cause. I want to see you back here in three months for a follow-up exam. If your eye pressure hasn't increased during that time and we don't observe any adverse changes to your optic nerves, we can stretch out the time between visits. You need to treat this seriously."
"So, you're saying that I'll definitely get glaucoma, you just don't know when?" Jesse recrossed his arms and frowned at the doctor.
"Not at all. Some people with elevated eye pressure never develop glaucoma. But ocular hypertension is a risk factor and yours is high enough to warrant careful monitoring, particularly in your left eye."
Jesse cast an anxious glance at Danny, who put a comforting hand on his arm. "Is there anything he can do to prevent it?" Danny asked.
The doctor looked at Jesse. "Not much. It's largely a genetic disease. If you smoke, I suggest that you quit. Weight lifting and playing a wind instrument can increase your risk." Danny and Jesse traded surprised looks. "Some studies indicate that upping your intake of omega-3 fatty acids has a protective effect." The doctor shrugged. "Can't hurt. Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regimen is a good idea anyway."
"You really need to talk to Irene and Nick about this."
Jesse shrugged and picked at his food. They were sitting in a booth in a dilapidated diner across the street from the eye clinic.
"There's a genetic link to glaucoma, Jesse," Danny continued. "They need to know."
Jesse stopped twirling his spaghetti and stared at Danny. "Of course," he said, shaking his head sadly. He dropped the fork, pushed away the half-eaten plate of food, and folded his arms. "You're right."
Danny pressed him further. "Didn't one of your grandmothers lose her vision?"
Jesse swallowed hard and stared at a point on the wall just past Danny's head. "Mom's mother," he said quietly. He flicked a glance at the man seated opposite him and threw his arms wide before dropping them in a defeated gesture. "I'll call my mom tonight."
Danny nodded. "You should talk to DJ, too," he said, gathering his butter plate and utensils and stacking them neatly on top of his empty dinner plate.
"DJ?" Jesse took a sip of coffee and stared at his brother-in-law. "What's DJ got to do with anything?"
"She picked up that something was wrong this morning, Jesse. She doesn't give up that easily."
Jesse shrugged and looked away. "I'm not telling her. She doesn't need to know everything, Danny. She's just a kid."
"She's a kid who lost her mother," Danny said. His voice was rough enough to draw Jesse's focus back to the table. "She worries about things." He stared at his stack of dishes.
Jesse sighed. "If she asks," he conceded.
Danny rewarded him with a slight smile. "The person we really need to call right now is Joey. He's probably worried sick since we've been gone all day. I should have called him when your appointment got pushed back. I had no idea it would take so long." Danny walked to the public phone booth in the lobby of the diner and dialed home.
Note: I am not a doctor, nor do I have glaucoma. The medical information in this scene was cobbled together using Medscape Reference and CNIB. (I'd include the links but the Doc Manager keeps eating them.)
If you notice any factual errors (or canon errors), please drop me a line in the comments. Thanks for reading.