A month before Stan's death I had cataract surgery in both eyes a week apart. I was so excited with the prospect of only needing reading glasses that I was ordering really cute readers in different strengths prior to the first cut. Obviously I have impulse control issues and I now have enough readers I could stock my own store. It didn't work out as planned and I am one of the rare people who still need glasses however my vision has greatly improved. Prior to surgery the big 'E' was blurry. I have 20/40 out of my left eye now and slightly worse out of my right eye so I am very grateful.
La Haye Total Eye Care is a huge well run business. When I first walked in to be examined I felt initially that I was in an assembly line of visioned impaired individuals. You go to the desk, check in, get called to the back, examined, returned to the front and then meet with the surgical planner who gives you your implant options. Nothing could be farther from reality. I felt like I was very special at each encounter. At the front desk I was met with smiles and instructions for filling out the paper work. When I was called to the back I had several different tests that each purpose was explained to me in detail. Yes I am a nurse but I have no real clue about eyes. I just know if you have sudden vision loss it is a medical emergency and that is about the extent of my knowledge. Every question was answered and no one gave the impression that I was asking ridiculous questions to begin with. The first visit was about 3 hours from beginning to end. It was a GREAT three hours. I met really great people and most important I had fun! I left the back relaxed and truly feeling that I was in the best hands. My final stop was the office where I had to pick out the kind of implant that I wanted. You have three choices. The first is implants that correct distance only. The second choice is implants that correct distance in one eye and near vision in the other. The third and most expensive was that each eye was corrected for both vision types. Remember me telling you initially that I had ordered several readers? Well I obviously opted for the first with just distance correction. Surgical papers were then signed and I was asked if I wanted a picture with Dr. La Haye just after surgery. It took me back a little until it was explained to me that option became available because people didn't think that he did the surgery. I opted for the picture because I knew it would be hysterical. Dr. La Haye has several ophthalmologists that work for him and do the initial studies. You don't meet Dr. La Haye until the day of surgery when you have a brief consult. The day of surgery was again like a well oiled machine. I have no clue just how many people he does a day but the surgical waiting room was full. I got called to the back and prepped and finally met Dr. La Haye. I had brought a bunny eared head band in hopes that he would put it on me for our picture. He is a really a great doc. He is professional and obviously has a great sense of humor to put up with me. The surgical nurses were on the ball, professional and despite the multiple cases they were dealing with, they kept me informed of what was going on. I was moved from space to space until I was taken into the surgical suite. Then I woke up. The whole experience was uneventful and very pleasant. I had no pain that Tylenol didn't take care of and had no post surgical issues except an apparent allergy to the eye drops. The eye drops are a necessary evil. Dear God I felt like I was always putting drops in my eyes. They gave me a paper so that I could keep track of my times and doses. I repeatedly pissed and moaned about the drops and they listened and gave reassurance. My complaining didn't work, I STILL had to put them in my eyes. My post op visits were done by the ophthalmologists. I saw Dr. Smith the most so he, by virtue of handling all my issues, (poor man) had become my favorite. I have been back several times for rechecks and each time I feel like I am visiting friends. Was my whole experience perfect? No it wasn't , there was a small glitch that when voiced was immediately handled and addressed. So l guess considering that they listened to what I had to say and responded to me it was really perfect. There are not enough positive adjectives to cover my experience from beginning to end. They take their mission statement as gospel. Thank you to everyone you have been such a blessing to me. I have included the two most important pictures from my visit
