Journal - Another Doctor Visit

On Monday, I had an appointment with Dr. Feilmeier (pronounced file-myer) at the Kearney Eye Institute. Dr. Feilmeier’s office is actually in Omaha, but he comes to Kearney once a month since there aren’t a lot of cornea specialists around here. Joni and I arrived in time for the 10:30am appointment.
At about noon, we finally got to see the doctor. He took a quick look at my eyes through the microscope, check the pressure, and did all the basic things that happen during any visit to the eye doctor. Then we talked about surgery for a few minutes, and some of the risks involved. He told me that any surgery I get would be done in Omaha, and probably the first couple of follow-ups, but anything after that could probably be handled in Kearney. I already knew that, but he did tell me a couple of things I didn’t know.
First, he said they would probably do cataract surgery first, then the cornea transplant at another time, rather than doing both at the same time like I thought. I assumed that since they have to go through the cornea to get to the cataract, they would just go ahead and do the transplant at the same time. Instead, he told me that the cataract is handled through a small incision on the outer edge of the cornea, rather than removing the cornea completely.
Secondly, I learned that one of Dr. Feilmeier’s associates also visits this area once a month, at an office in Grand Island. The two doctors come on a rotating schedule so that one of them is here every two weeks. That made me feel a little better because I was worried about only having a doctor here once a month in case there are problems after surgery.
All in all, it was a good visit. A positive visit as you might say. I was only with Dr. Feilmeier for about 15 minutes, but already I liked him better than Dr. Halgren in Omaha. He was just better at explaining things and letting me know how everything would be handled. He said he would go ahead and put me on the transplant list since there is about a two month wait. In the meantime, he will be gathering my records from Dallas and Omaha. If he decides that any further tests need to be done, they’ll contact me for an appointment, otherwise the next time I hear from them will be when they’re ready to schedule surgery.
Oh, there was one other thing he mentioned. When we were talking about surgery, I asked if I could have a bionic eye, knowing full well there is no such thing. What he mentioned was a type of prosthetic cornea that they sometimes use now in patients that have had multiple rejections. He didn’t go into great detail, but it has something to do with a natural cornea being layered with a plastic lens. I’ll have to look into that and see if I can learn more.
Anyway, I’m scheduled to see Dr. Feilmeier again on August 11, but I may very well hear from his office sometime before that if he decides we can go ahead with surgery. Keep me in your prayers!

2 Peter 3:8-9 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ESV