I don't know whether to hate my eye doc right now or not...
Last year I came to him and asked him if I could do Lasik.
He said he does Lasik through someone other than Hoopes and those other guys, and he is in my "qualified" health care providers or whatever.
So I needed an eye exam and qualification for Lasik, two birds with one stone right? Went to the right guy right?
Well he took one look at my prescription/blindness, simply asked my age and then said "maybe we will see next year". Didn't even tell me the qualifications for Lasik, didn't even consider me, and totally blew me off.
He did mention my eyes needed to be stable, thas why they all say but then they think I'm like 18 and eyes generally change when that young. So he did say ONE of the qualifications of one year history of eye stability, but still, he blew me off. It was my first time in his office for an exam so he didn't have much history BUT he did have the change between the lenses I came in with and his exam which would be one year right? Get my eyes checked every year right?
ANYWAYS, so I went in again this year and was determined to go through the qualification process before I left that office, hoping my eyes hadn't changed so much in the last year tho right. So the person assisting the eye doc, basically the one that does the eye exam that the doc takes credit for, she helped prod this along by telling the doc I was interested in Lasik.
He came in and gave me this big ol' run around of alternatives to actual laser surgery. And you know when yer getting the run around that they are trying to say no your request right? He was still looking at my understandibly unique eye situation... But I kept asking the qualifications and he said it was how thick your cornea was, stable eyes, no abnormal shape or diseases, etc. He assumed with that much blindness the corneas were too thin and they would prolly find some abnormal shape or disease, blah blah blah.
I was slightly getting upset with the run around. Tell me if I qualify or not and I want a LEGIT answer, not your assuming, experience, or guessing! I mean we all love doctors with experience right, but seriously, sometimes when they dont even give you a chance it gets super annoying when they rely on experience! He spouts out his 15,000 patients he has done this surgery for over his vast career...blah blah blah.
I suppose I badgered him enough he finally got me over to a machine and did some tests to see how thick my corneas were and stuff and to his amazement I had it all going for me. I qualified. boo ya! For a guy whose life revolves around eyes it sure does take a ton of bricks to the head to get his eyes to open up to the situtation... He kept repeating things after realizing I qualified. He was truly surprised I qualified. He was stupidified! He tried to shoo it under the rug for a minute and said "You have to be a good candidate, well you have to be a perfect candidate to qualify" (bullcrap, you just have to meet the requirements as he stated many times before) But in the end he declared I was a perfect candidate. You could tell he was surprised when he kept repeating himself and looking at the pictures he took of my eyes.
*does a happy dance*
Dude I would have done Lasik yesterday if I could have, let alone knowing I prolly could have a year ago! Now I have two years of history that say my eyes don't change that much anymore tho...hopefully. I got a good shape to work with and my corneas are thick enough and no diseases. Boo yah! I was kinda irritated that the doc blew me off last year, but glad he opened his eyes this year!
It'll be my birthday present to me! To be able to see again! Without contacts/glasses of course. Certainly with how much I'm paying for contacts AND a pair of glasses this will save me money in the end. And contacts aren't doing my eyes any favors right now either cuz I don't take them out at night the health of my eyes aren't getting any better. And I swear if I don't get this surgery I'm gonna end up like Dad in those biofocials and in the negatives even more!
Its a lot of money and a lot of effort and care before and after surgery, but I think it will be worth it when everything heals. I'll prolly have even better vision than I have with my current contacts haha. I prolly won't be 20/20, but 20/40 is good enough for me! I'd rather wear glasses for reading or driving at night than hurt my eyes with contacts the rest of my life, and reading glasses would be less expensive than biofocals.
He quoted each eye at $1,895. But my insurance gives a 10% discount on Lasik surgery....
I've been saving up money for this event kids, I have! Evan thinks I've been saving for a new car, but noo I was saving for my vision. It costs a lot less than a brand new car and would change my life a whole lot more! I would willingly put off buying a new car if I could see better to drive it!
Nobody really understands how much this would change my life, and you cant say you know until your vision is as bad as mine or dad in double digit negatives... and you've had glasses since 2nd grade and your eyes keep getting worser. I'm prolly the second blindest in the family so this would prolly be best for me compared to the rest of the family. I wondering if Dad would qualify too... he's just as unique as me... You have to understand our unique eye situation before you can judge this decision or say you understand! It may seem like a little thing going from contacts (vision) to no contacts and still have vision... but it makes a difference... and I'll pay big money for that difference!
If I had Dallins or Evans or even Dustins vision where you pay like $10 a box for contacts and can get them in-store or whatnot then it might be worth 4 grand. But when you are supposed to pay $70 a month (I dont cuz I obviously cant afford to do the two week thing, I use them for a month) and pay for expensive super thick lenses for glasses, then it might be worth 4 grand to me.
I'll pay big money cuz I know it will save my eyes in the end. I know my family history and I can see my future are far as hearing, eyesight, teeth, heart, hair, and bones and if I can keep one of those intact I will pay dearly! The next to pay dearly for is prolly to keep my teeth, they, like my eyes, came from Dad and he has the worst and I'm gonna end up just like him or be a close second if I don't do something about it!
We went to a Make A Wish Foundation in Murray for a tour yesterday. All these kids with cancer and their wishes, mostly DisneyWorld, but still inspiring. Someone asked what my wish would be. I think I know the answer now. But then again I don't have the potential to die of a disease...
I'm gonna get Lasik! I'm gonna be able to see, and at night! woot woot!