Diagnosis: A long horrible journey.

November 14, 2013 by aramun02 2 Comments

2007:

Going in for a routing eye exam and thinking to myself, “this is going to be a waste of time.” But my co-pay was only $10 so what the heck.

They tell me to cover one eye and read the letters and then switch. I tell them it takes me a LONG TIME to adjust to light (RED FLAG). So we wait, they get impatient and tell me we can skip that part. Then the preliminary examination begins aka TORTURE. I went in and my eyes were raped. Yes, raped. Machine after machine after machine, and then came the worst: retina picture time. A giant flash right into my eyes: one at a time.

Then it was time to see the optometrist. I sat there pertinently waiting for the effects of the flash to wear away…

The optometrist comes in, we chat, then the fun begins. She asks if I can read the letters in front of me, but I can’t. My eyes sees differently colored glares all around me. She tells me to wait it out. 15 minutes later she returns, I still can’t see. 30 minutes later, still nothing. They get frustrated and tell me to come back in an hour (RED FLAG).

An hour later I come back and reattempt the eye exam. This time the optometrist is a bit more patient as I tell her my eyes take a long time to adjust to light, especially when switching from one to the other.

She is surprised I’ve never worn glasses, given that my prescription is really high (RED FLAG!). I got pick out some frames, Chanel of course, and am told glasses will arrive in 3 weeks.

So now I wear glasses; great.

2008:

Same routine, same torture. New higher prescription (RED FLAG).

2010:

Same routine, same torture. New higher prescription (RED FLAG).

2011:

Same routine, same torture. New higher prescription (RED FLAG). This time though, I decide to start wearing contacts. No issues, life is great!

2013: Oh no.

I go in for an exam at a different Lenscrafters (another post will explain in detail how horrid the previous place was). I was lucky though, Dr. Lin was in because all the in-house optometrist were at a conference—or something like that. She sits down, talks to me, and actually LISTENS. She is VERY patient, allowing me to take my time in adjusting to light!!! After the exam she mentions the K-word and refers me to an Ophtomologist.

I reluctantly make the appointment. Maybe all I have is really bad astigmatism, but for my peace of mind I head to the Northern California Cornea Associates in Walnut Creek to see Dr. Lim. Same tortuous routine, but they are a lot more gentle than Lenscrafters. This time they do an eye topography for both eyes. Dr.Lim walks in, checks out my eyes, and says I do have Keratoconus. “Hmm. Ok, now what?” I thought. She says it’s a corneal disease hands me a black-and-white-1970’s-looking-packet of information and tells me to come back in 6 months. I go to my car and read CORNEA TRANSPLANT. I freak out.