I'm actually in a mix of emotions right now; anger, and sadness. One of my friends, started telling me had vision issues, I told him to go to the hospital (a few times actually; emergency room anything).  No one really cared either, I was the only one who cared... Everyone else was like "oh sh*t happens". Am I on another planet?

He said, "Oh it's no big deal.... it can't be serious"

Flash forward 8 days because he waited for a clinic appointment; retinal detachment. He's going to go blind, because retinal detachment is fix able in 24 hours. I told him, everyday it's going to get to get worse. He's smiling and covering his eye, like "oh well". What's wrong with him??

He's like not making a big deal, minimizing the situation! I don't know. It' also made realize life is so finite, anything can happen. It freaked me out to be honest cause our health can change so fast in a blink of an eye. I went outside, and felt like we are just of aunts waiting for the inevitable. It freak me out.

He's a realist. Do you think ER would have equipment needed for complex eye surgery, or would he get an urgent appointment with a specialist??? Unless you are a major guy, it will take a number of days to get to any eye surgeon at least


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote from: elkie-t on July 21, 2017, 08:18:45 PM
He's a realist. Do you think ER would have equipment needed for complex eye surgery, or would he get an urgent appointment with a specialist??? Unless you are a major guy, it will take a number of days to get to any eye surgeon at least


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not to say I disagree with this... but I'm just going to say he has the opportunity to see a specialist for retinal detachment if he really wanted too. Great insurance.

Quote from: elkie-t on July 21, 2017, 08:18:45 PM
He's a realist. Do you think ER would have equipment needed for complex eye surgery, or would he get an urgent appointment with a specialist??? Unless you are a major guy, it will take a number of days to get to any eye surgeon at least

Are you kidding? If you go to ER ( in Australia at least) you are evaluated first, and if it is a retinal detachment it is considered an emergency and you'd be admitted immediately and receive appropriate treatment.

As for that guy's attitude, it's typical male who thinks that he is indestructible. I have two brothers who have to be cajoled into seeing doctors when it seems like the thing to do.

Alas, we can't be our brother's keepers. We can only suggest.

When I had an eye problem, a couple of years ago, my doctor make an emergency referral to an ophthalmologist for the next day.  Fortunately it wasn't a severe problem.  So, when there is an emergency, the medical profession can move quickly.  But it's up to you to take the first step and let them know.

Quote from: AnneK on July 21, 2017, 08:28:50 PM
When I had an eye problem, a couple of years ago, my doctor make an emergency referral to an ophthalmologist for the next day.  Fortunately it wasn't a severe problem.  So, when there is an emergency, the medical profession can move quickly.  But it's up to you to take the first step and let them know.

Exactly! It's like he just went to the clinic and ask for an appointment.... dude.

This ruin my day actually.

Quote from: Wild Flower on July 21, 2017, 08:31:57 PM
Exactly! It's like he just went to the clinic and ask for an appointment.... dude.

This ruin my day actually.

Don't let it ruin your day. You cannot be held responsible for another person's actions based on his own free will.
He is now paying the price.

 Yeah, last time I went for emergency I had to sit for 6 hrs before being evaluated by a triage nurse... if you aren't bleeding to death, they are overfilled with other patients


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In emergency, they have to take patients in order of priority.  That priority may be affected by what you tell them.  Again, you have to provide them with the info they need to make the selection and tell them about factors that may aggravate the situation, such as other issues, medications etc.  The more they know, the better they can decide.  Also a big problem is the number of people who rely on the emergency department, instead of finding their own doctor/clinic, for regular care.

Quote from: Dan on July 21, 2017, 08:26:48 PM
Are you kidding? If you go to ER ( in Australia at least) you are evaluated first, and if it is a retinal detachment it is considered an emergency and you'd be admitted immediately and receive appropriate treatment.

That's because, in part at least, we have a health care system designed to provide health care, not make money.

Quote from: elkie-t on July 21, 2017, 08:56:32 PM
Yeah, last time I went for emergency I had to sit for 6 hrs before being evaluated by a triage nurse... if you aren't bleeding to death, they are overfilled with other patients

6 hours to wait for triage? That's appalling.

My wife has suffered from 3 detached retinas.  She had weird vision issues, she described it as a ceiling on her vision in her eyes.  We set up an eye doctor appointment, and he laser attached them within 3 days.  Her right eye detached a second time, so when she went back he reattached the retina and filled the eye with a medical grade silicone.  Her eye is legally blind, but it won't lose color in the iris, at least according to the doctor.  She can see light, color, and perceive some movement, but can't see any images with it.  He will likely not return full vision to the eye, but he might save some of it, if he seeks treatment.

It is not your fault, you did what you could.  Let him know he can still save some vision, but it won't ever fully return, but only if he acts soon.

Guys can be really stupid about getting medical attention. Last year my brother got what he thought was the flu. But it kept getting worse and worse. I told him he needed to see a Dr, so did my mom and dad. But he kept saying it was just the flu and he was fine. When his fever spiked to 103 my dad made him go to the hospital. "Only the flu" ended up being pneumonia. It wouldn't have been so bad if his dumb ass had seen a Dr when we told him to. I didn't even really get to enjoy being right because I ended up having to take care of him while my parents were at work.😫
Julia

He should have seen a medical professional sooner, but him freaking out at this point is useless.

Life is absolutely finite, make the most of it and don't abuse your body. Learn from incidents like this.

Quote from: kelly_aus on July 22, 2017, 01:31:52 AM
6 hours to wait for triage? That's appalling.

Not if that was someone who couldn't be bothered getting their own doctor.  I think they're earned it.

Quote from: AnneK on July 22, 2017, 01:10:47 PM
Not if that was someone who couldn't be bothered getting their own doctor.  I think they're earned it.

Even in an Australian hospital, where we suffer the same "minor illness flood" in ER's, a 6 hour wait for triage would result in a complaint and an investigation, it's unprofessional.

In Philly I would have gone to Wills Eye Hospital and had treatment relatively quickly.

Why he did not take quick action and having great insurance is his lack of self care. Perhaps he has other underlying issues that are preventing him from self care.

Quote from: Viktor on July 22, 2017, 08:33:00 AM
He should have seen a medical professional sooner, but him freaking out at this point is useless.

Life is absolutely finite, make the most of it and don't abuse your body. Learn from incidents like this.

Trust me. I learned from this hardcore. I realize life is so finite, it's a freakin scare. After he told me, I was like outside running like an aunt from the deep sun... feeling the rays of the cancerous Sunlight, and feeling like my body is falling apart without a cause so slowly. It's more disturbing than I describe, but I felt so scared... I bought eye vitamins, sunglasses... so scared.

Quote from: Rachel Lynn on July 23, 2017, 05:06:32 PM
In Philly I would have gone to Wills Eye Hospital and had treatment relatively quickly.

Why he did not take quick action and having great insurance is his lack of self care. Perhaps he has other underlying issues that are preventing him from self care.

This^^^

My mother has had many detached retinas due to a childhood problem and currently goes to wills. Any of the philly area hospitals would get the person in the same day or next day.

Really though, it's up to the person to make their own choices. If you suggested an action and they did not take it then no fault on you, though completely understand how you feel when people close do what seems like really dumb things.

Quote from: Wild Flower on July 23, 2017, 05:57:23 PM
Trust me. I learned from this hardcore. I realize life is so finite, it's a freakin scare. After he told me, I was like outside running like an aunt from the deep sun... feeling the rays of the cancerous Sunlight, and feeling like my body is falling apart without a cause so slowly. It's more disturbing than I describe, but I felt so scared... I bought eye vitamins, sunglasses... so scared.

Possible blindness is a terrifying idea. Because I am albino I have to be especially careful with my eyes and sunlight. But people with normal eye color really have a small chance of going blind from sunlight. As long as you don't stare into the sun and wear sunglasses when it's bright out you should be fine.
Julia

Quote from: elkie-t on July 21, 2017, 08:18:45 PM
He's a realist. Do you think ER would have equipment needed for complex eye surgery, or would he get an urgent appointment with a specialist??? Unless you are a major guy, it will take a number of days to get to any eye surgeon at least

  This is simply not true. He was a fool. And yes an ER would have know what was wrong and could have been able to get him the help he needed to save his sight.  How do I know this? Because I had the same happen to me. I looked up the symptoms online and found out it could be serious. I immediately call the hospital and was in to see someone that day. I had a tear in my retina the could have led to detachment had the not used a laser to seal the edges down so it did not get worse.  The symptoms of retina tears is well known and require immediate attention.
  If you see a bright flash and notice crap floating in you sight that was not already there, then get your tail into see a doctor.  In my case I don't remember the flash but I did suddenly have what appeared to be a big glob of lint floating in my vision. I also noticed what looked like a snow storm of tiny black dots when looking at a bright background, That was blood from the tear dispersed in the eye fluid.
  Your eyes are nothing to mess around with. when you noticed something out of the ordinary get it looked at.

Hugs,
   Laurie