My Eyes

Last Wednesday, I got my new glasses. It was the culmination of 5 months of eye treatments. My eyes are pretty good now but even with glasses they are not 20/20. Reading newspapers now, I like to bring the paper close to my nose. Distant signs are blurry. But it good enough, I'm thankful to the doctors and health system for what I have.

I went to the doctor for the last time before I leave last Tuesday. He gave me a prescription, I am nearsighted in both eyes now, but the left can only be corrected to 20/40.  I wouldn't be using glasses for reading but the distance will still be a problem. Before this crisis, I was on bifocals, nearsighted in one eye, farsighted in the other and close to being uncorrectable to 20/20, so am close to what I was before the crisis.

I took the prescription to the optometrist after the last visit and paid about $66 for the new lenses to be put in my old glasses frame. They were ready in one day. The new lenses in an old frame were not covered by the National Health Plan but still cheaper than Costco.

Here's a spreadsheet of the treatment:

Here is the medical bills we paid since we got here. The summary line in the end is for only the eye treatment

	description	Paid		Real Cost
11/6/2012	Teeth Cleaning	150		1060
11/9/2012	Eye exam	460		1200
11/11/2012	ER surgery	720		891
11/11/2012	surgery	0		0
11/14/2012	Check out	18213		73237
11/20/2012	laser, left	330		4830
11/29/2012	laser, left	460		4739
12/6/2012	laser, left	460		2508
12/7/2012	surgery	495		4075
12/8/2012	visit	330		602
12/13/2012	laser, both	460		2508
12/18/2012	laser both	460		589
12/27/2012	laser both	460		508
1/31/2013	Check up	480		552
3/7/2013	pre-op	0		0
3/8/2013	cataract	27715		48024
3/9/2013	Check up	310		419
3/12/2013	Check up	480		500
3/26/2013	Final check up	460		589
		52293		145771
					difference
Us dollar	1US/29NT	1803.207		5026.586	3223.3793

Summary

21 visits to the doctor                                      
   3 surgeries                                                          
      a. sceleral buckle both eye, gas in left
      b. gas in right
      c. cataract on left
 ~9 laser reattachment sessions
   3 nights hospital stay

Out of pocket costs approximately $1800 of which $1600 was surgical costs.
The rest was paid for the Taiwan National Health Plan which I qualify for as a legal resident of Taiwan through marriage.

(Compared to Obamacare, the Taiwan National Health Plan is more like the "single payer plan" that Obama quickly jettisoned to placate the insurance companies, the HMOs and doctors.)

What did I learn from this?

1. Don't wait, once you notice a change, get it investigated. I waited too long to go to the doctor, the situation just got worse. I was confused by by new glasses and though it would just take some time to adjust.

2. Question authorities. My optometrist in the US didn't recognize the detached retina during my annual eye exam, although looking back I see now that it was already present. In Taiwan, the doctors were seeing more than 50 patients a day, if you didn't ask questions their assumption was that everything was fine.

3. If technology can help, then go for it. So sense suffering for nothing.

4. Attitude means everything, if being depressed would help there would be reason to be depressed. But with Florence's help I think I was pretty upbeat, at least most of the time.

This is one of the less gruesome pictures but it has not been fun. The laser reattachment of the retinas was dramatic. Feeling something burning in your eyeball is new, wonder how long this session of burning will last tricks the mind. I actually thought I smelt smoke from the burning in my eye. Maybe it was an hallucination.  Holding still during this procedure can be tough, but what choice do you have? They're your eyes.