I became a LASIK casualty in July 2001. In 2003, I began, in an official capacity, to help other refractive surgery casualties to find some help for their surgery-related problems. When Dr. Hartzok and I started VSRN in 2004, I still held out some hope that at some point, perhaps a few years, our services would no longer be needed and we would be able to close the doors. Despite all the high-tech hype about each new and improved surgery, the e-mails and phone calls keep coming, and our doors are still wide open.

Some of those who contact us requesting help are long-time casualties, RK 15 or 20 years ago, LASIK 10 years ago, but just as many are those who have had recent surgery. More disturbing to me are the doctors who tell these patients they've never seen complications like theirs before, or worse, make tasteless and invalidating jokes at the patient's expense—"get a seeing-eye dog, hahaha." There is nothing even remotely amusing about the ugly, aberrated post-surgical vision with which we all are living.

I don't often post this kind of message, but I'm posting this evening because this has been a particularly busy week for VSRN. When patients e-mail or call to ask for help, we generally respond by asking a few questions to get an idea of the sort of resources that would be of greatest benefit. Some patients never respond, perhaps suspecting some ulterior motive. We wish them well, but can't help them without knowing more than that they've had surgery and they're unhappy. I never refer any patient to any doctor in the VSRN resource network without first communicating with both patient and then with the doctor. The questions generally asked are:

--What is your geographic region?
--When was your surgery and what did you have done (how many surgeries)?
--What kind of problems are you experiencing (e.g., starbursts, haloes, ghosting, blurriness, etc.)?
--What was your pre-op Rx, and what is your post-op Rx?
--What is your age, and do you have any systemic illnesses that might have impacted your surgery?
--Do you have dry eye, and if so, what steps have you taken to treat it?
--So that I don't send you to someone you may already have seen, who was your surgeon and who else have you seen for help since your surgery?
--How far would you be willing to travel to see a doctor (second opinion, expert RGP fitter, etc.)?

There is no other motive than to match patients up with the most appropriate resources. All information is strictly confidential and Dr. Hartzok and I never share any information with anyone without a patient's permission for a specific instance. If you are a refractive surgery casualty in need of resources or help, please provide as much information as possible about your situation, including the answers to the above questions, when you contact us.

Please feel free to post your stories in the personal stories section of this bulletin board. If you are not a subscriber, send me an e-mail at info@visionsurgeryrehab.org and I'll post it for you. You may remain anonymous if you desire. There is never a charge, nor does anyone receive any financial consideration for anything we do. VSRN is a completely volunteer organization that exists primarily on air and prayer. You can support our work on behalf of all refractive surgery casualties by subscribing (see http://visionsurgeryrehab.evecommunity.com/eve/premium).