peregrinerose

Every doc is different... plus factor in any insurance coverage they may have when it comes to cost. Call your eye doc, see if they do pediatric exams, if not ask for a referral to a doc that does. If cost is a factor, let the doc you are scheduling with know.... Lions clubs, for example, will help pay for eyeglasses and exams for those who can't afford it. School districts often have programs for this too. I've never turned a patient away based on ability to pay, even if it means I'm the one buying the glasses. I can still get the same information from a 4-5 year old as an infant, just have to be a little bit more creative during the exam to keep them entertained Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Yes, strabismus does tend to run in families. The biggest problem with strabismus is amblyopia. When one eye turns, the brain can either see double or ignore the eye. Seeing double is a bitch, so the brain ignores the eye. When this happens in early life, the brain doesn't learn how to see with the eye it's ignoring. That's called amblyopia. Amblyopia is completely preventable if caught and treated young... it's why some of you guys had to patch... the fixating eye is patched which forces the brain to stop ignoring the eye that turned and learn how to see with it. More recent studies have found that using atropine eye drops instead of the patch is just as effective in many cases (depends on the child and situation, of course). It's a pet peeve of mine.... kids that don't get eye exams young enough. I always recommend between 9-12 months for the first exam. It pisses me off to see kids who finally fail a school vision screening when their 10 or 12 or whatever due to amblyopia, and by then it's very difficult to treat. Amblyopia is completely preventable if treated young. There's a program called InfantSee, free eye exams for kids 12 months an under. We are talking full exams here... refraction, dilation, eye health, eye turns, side vision, etc... not just the superficial screenings that pediatricians do that miss things like amblyopia. I can get the same information from an infant I can get from an adult, just using different tools. Besides, infants are fun to examine

The eyeglass part of the eye exam is actually the least important part. When we look inside the eyes, things like MS, diabetes, neuro problems, high cholesterol, anything vascular, some autoimmune disease, some cancers, etc show up there before having any physical symptoms. Eye diseases like glaucoma have no symptoms until it is too late to restore vision. So for general health reasons, make sure you get your eyes checked. It isn't that bad... really It scares me just how many problems must go undiagnosed until much later than it should be based on how many 'normal' eye exams end up revealing significant issues. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

The Magic picture things also take into account an individual person's ability to adjust eye alignment on command. You have to sort of look farther than the plane of the paper to see the image (make your eyes converge less), and that isn't always easy to do, some people are better at it than others. They would have no problem with a 3D movie though, because you don't have to try to trick your eyes into focusing on a different distance... the movie screen is at optical infinity, so the eyes are straight. The different image for each eye is through cross polarized sunglasses (one lens is polarized at 90 degrees, the other at 180) Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Nope, you didn't screw up your understanding of your doc's explanation You do have depth perception, everyone does, even if you only have one eye. What you don't have is the finer part of depth perception, stereopsis. If you close one eye, you can still use other cues to see depth. Things that are closer look bigger, for example. How objects move relative to your motion indicates distance. Same with closer objects obscuring parts of more distant objects. Stereopsis is what you don't have... that requires both eyes to be focused on the same thing at the same time and the brain paying attention to both images. All vision is learned in the first 2 years of life. Stereoscopic vision is learned around 6 months of age. If it isn't learned then, you can't learn it later. Things like eye turns (strabismus), unequal prescriptions between eyes, high prescriptions, etc that go untreated in infancy can make it impossible for the brain to learn stereoscopic vision. Because vision is learned so young and things like amblyopia are completely preventable, infants should have their first eye exams before 12 months of age. This is especially important if there is a family history of eye issues like this. Without stereopsis, 3D movies and 'magic pictures' aren't going to happen. A career in major league baseball is unlikely, but other than that, you'll do ok.

My husband and I usually jump in PA but visited Mile High last month. Landings were faster, but nothing that scared the crap out of us. After a few jumps, we were more concerned about tripping in the prairie dog holes than the faster landings Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Ours is $70, I think. It is 3+ hours, covers everything... hanging a canopy and going through all the parts, how it's built, 3 rings, closing loops, packing, all under direct instruction of the rigger. Personally, I wouldn't do it for free. I do work with people once they have taken a packing course for no charge, supervising, giving that confidence boost they need when learning to pack, and I'll spend countless hours doing it without charging a cent. The difference is that I can be doing other things at the same time as answering questions or keeping an eye on the student. I guess a better question would be to define a packing course. I learned to pack from a guy who just showed me how to put the canopy in the bag and close the container and paid nothing for it. If I'd known how much I was missing and not quite comprehending, I'd have paid for the packing course. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I agree. Lack of ethics is in any business. The title "Doctor" certainly doesn't mean perfection or sainthood. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I highly doubt that anyone would go through the surgery just for sporting event reasons. Do some research on the psych testing required prior to surgery, then read up on the extent of work required for the surgery, plus the therapy required post op, including how painful it is. Then factor in the psychosocial aspects of going through sex change, being shunned and ridiculed by a very large percent of the population on a daily basis. Although I have no interest in growing parts I wasn't born with and can't identify with the need/desire to do so, I have to respect the courage that the people who go that route show. It can't be easy, it takes more strength than I could ever have. Gee, I wonder how long it will take for this thread to hop over to Speakers Corner?

I'm not sure why you are so pissed at doctors in general. Like every profession, there are good ones and less than ethical ones. Every doc has their own practice philosophy... give drugs vs. find the problem and go from there, for example. The important part that you, and far too many other people, are missing is that doctors are on your pay roll, not the other way around. You have the right to interview your doctor and chose the one who's practice philosophy best matches your health care goals. If you believe your doc to be unethical, fire them and hire a new one. About the drug companies... I quite happily meet with drug reps and take the free drugs. I give them only to patients with no insurance. If they want to buy me lunch, great... but I also refuse to do lunch alone... they want me for lunch, they have to buy the whole office lunch, not just me Does it influence my prescribing habits? Nope. I'm pretty blunt. All of the reps I deal with, both drug and contact lens, know exactly what I do and don't prescribe and why. All the free lunch in the world won't change that. The only way they can influence my prescribing pattern is with samples and uninsured patients. Even then, I let the patient know that I prefer drug X, but it's $100 for a 5mL bottle. However, I have drug y, which may take a little longer to work, or may sting a little bit more, but I have a sample I can give them. The patient makes the choice. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Thank you Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

*sigh* ok. Take all the fun out of it why don't you Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Wow, that surprised the hell out of me seeing our names in a subject line

My husband and his mom. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I think that for your wife, skydiving probably wouldn't have been a good thing. But every woman handles pregnancy differently. My hunch would be that there is no 'right' answer for this as every person's physiology of pregancy is different. Some are on bedrest for the last couple of months of pregancy but that doesn't mean every woman needs to be. It's really a case by case decision that is between the mother and her doctor. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

So what's the pay per year cutoff in tipping vs. non tipping professions? A packer with no overhead can probably do as well or better than a doctor with massive student loans as overhead on a net per year basis (which is why I have to moonlight as a packer to afford to jump. And I like packing

I'm not going to have kids of my own and have never been pregnant, but if I was, I would probably still jump as long as comfortable and assuming both I and the baby were in perfect health. Although it helps that there's an ob/gyn jumper at the DZ, so I'd probably quit when he told me to. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Tipping for good service is good... but where does it stop? I've been a doc for 6 years, my service is damn good... I make house calls and am on call 24/7. But I don't get tipped, no matter how far I go beyond the call of duty. I'm a packer. Some people tip, some don't. I definitely appreciate the tips, and certainly wont' turn them down... I do my best on every pack job. However, the pay is pretty good even leaving tipping out of the equation. On a busy day, I'll make more packing than I do in a day as a doc! Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

If I'm wearing gloves, I'll usually wear the rings. But a vast majority of the time, it's off. I don't like packing with my rings on either. The engagement ring, even though it's small, snags too easily. So the rings are off basically call summer. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Me too.. .but I also hope that she is bright enough to have health insurance this time. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

My opening/neck issue was similar to the others posted here. Got slammed on open, wicked riser burns on my neck, absolutely no ability to move for several seconds. Like the others, I was lucky to have a good canopy over my head. Basic will-power to land ok. I flew in 1/2 brakes with only mild toggle input since that was really all I could do at the time. Flared as best I could. Someone else had to reel in my gear and carry it for me, no way I could have. Trip to the ER should 'age related degeration (and I'm only 32!!!!!)' but no permanent damage. I know a couple of people who had compression fractures on open, so I was lucky. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

This morning I beat it with parachute. Tonight it guessed parachute in 17 questions. I wonder what it guesses for a Cypress?? Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Since Chad the Gay Cabana boy scared the crap out of every other cabana contestant... you missed the fun Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

And Jamie probably misses using Kiwi and his accent as girl bait

Hey Kiwi.. glad you are doing great, but we sure as hell miss you!!!!! Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda