"Exceptional care during a difficult diagnosis"

I was referred to ophthalmology through a&e after losing vision in one eye. my first meeting with a staff member wasn’t great as the inflammation didn’t show on the OCT scan and I felt like I wasn’t really being believed. then I was seen by Dr. Arni and am so glad I was. she took everything seriously, ran some tests and decided to refer me to neurology, thanks to her great attention to detail, thoroughness and history taking, we eventually had answers (optic neuritis).

I'm gonna expose myself here, only to show how patient the staff is. During my first appointment with Dr. Arni in opthalmology, she was doing a RAPD test which requires you to sit still and focus. for some reason my brain absolutely refuses to behave in quiet or serious situations. I started laughing. the more I tried to stop, the worse it got. I could see the slight confusion, which made it even funnier to me. it snowballed and the nurse started laughing too. I was sent to sit in the waiting area to compose myself. the second I got called back in, I started laughing again because I remembered that I had laughed before. It’s like my brain hears “don’t laugh” and immediately goes "say less, do the opposite." despite examining what was essentially a malfunctioning giggling machine, dr. Arni stayed completely professional and still managed to get everything she needed.

Over 6 months later I came back for a routine follow up. I’d changed my hair a bit, but she still recognised me, and even remembered my unfortunate laughing habit. the mistake was reminding me. it reset the laughter for round two and in the middle of a very quiet very focused test I suddenly burst out laughing again and probably scared her because it came out of nowhere. every single time she handles it so well, she laughs with me, gently redirects me to focus, and carries on without making me feel embarrassed. I genuinely appreciate that so much. seriously though she's been incredibly reassuring about my eye health and has handled my care with patience and kindness from the start. I know it can’t be easy trying to examine someone who keeps laughing during physical tests, but she’s always treated me with understanding. I have a problem I know, just every time I tell myself to stop laughing or work on it, it gets worse.

Dr arni!!! thanks for taking me seriously, for being so thorough, and for putting up with my terrible timing. my appointments actually leave me feeling reassured, and slightly embarrassed lol but very grateful.

And if anyone reading this has genuine advice on how to stop laughing during serious medical examinations, please share it because i'm sure my neuro consultant is looking forward to dealing with me soon. I know am there for important reasons and the staff are busy, I promise am not laughing at anyone I just clearly need better self control.