Medical ramblings

I now know two people with serious internal organ infections and another with a skin infection, in addition to all the folks with regular old colds. And I read the other day, that for the second or third year running, they've guessed wrong for the flu vaccine (why do they even bother?) I swear to god, we should get danger pay just for leaving the house.

Stuart was off this afternoon to have his follow-up echo bubble test. His mom has HHT and since it's a genetic condition, her kids could have it. His sister came up clean, but Stuart's was a "potential", so today's test is to see if there has been any development. I doubt we'll know anything until he goes back to the specialist, but I can't wait. If he has it, then I can't make... I mean, take him scuba diving.

And since I'm on a medical vein, I've been doing some more reading up on Laser Eye surgery. There are four or five types now, and as far as I can tell, they all have drawbacks. IF I'm a candidate, there are many pros and cons to consider.

Pros:

1. No need to fork out $400/year on contacts and $500 every 4-5 years on glasses
2. No need to wear corrective devices, especially good for camping, gym, etc.

Cons:

1. After surgery, my sight may be "good enough" for life without glasses (20/40) rather than the 20/20 I'm accustomed to with glasses or contacts.
2. Visual artifacts, particularly ones that ruin night vision, seem to be associated with larger than average pupils, which I have.
3. Some types of surgery have a potential recovery time of a year or more!
4. I may still have to get reading glasses, as I get older.

I'm still curious to have a consultation and see what they say. Frankly, I'd probably be a lot happier if they were straightforward about the potential risks - just because I feel that if they are willing to discuss it, they probably have a better chance of evaluating my case. Likely though, I won't do it; that's a heck of a lot of money to pay someone to take a chance to make things worse!