You know those mornings where you wake up and *BAM* you feel older. Mine happened when I woke up, went to check the weather on the tablet, and had to close my right eye to stop it from looking blurry.
This was not a good sign.
Like any 30ish women would do though – I ignored it, my eyes were TOTALLY fine. I only needed them (mild ones at that) because I was on the computer for 8 hours a day when I was working as a graphic designer… that would make anyone’s eyes tired (apparently I’m still trying to make excuses). They didn’t really get any worse over time, but they didn’t get any better either. I was having to close that darn right eye whenever I was reading something at night.
It was time to give in, admit defeat (which I hate having to do). It was time to see an eye doctor and get some glasses.
Priority number one for me was a one-stop shop so that it could all be done quickly – there are three kids and a hungry husband at home every night, so wasting hours on multiple stops isn’t ideal. So, I made an appointment (online! how easy!), and two days later I was at the Pearle Vision Newmarket in the Upper Canada Mall getting taken care of.
My first stop was the optometrist’s office, where Doctor Tony Choi took care of me. He was absolutely fantastic! He explained everything that he was going to do and why he was going to do it before he started. Once he had finished running a set of tests, he explained the results to me. Round one was spent reading all the little letters on the cards. Shocker – my right eye is a lot weaker than my left, and not just with reading. It turns out that the muscles in it are also lagging a bit – probably because I’ve been favouring it for so long. Lesson to everyone else: don’t wait like I did, it will not get better.
Next up, it was time to get some drops put in my eyes to dilate them for further exam. After giving them five minutes to work their magic, he used these special goggles to check the health of my eyes. Turns out I also have a couple of “scratches” in my right eye (they aren’t actual scratches, more like two lines that run down the inside of my eye and I could have been born with them). The important thing to know about this is that they’re the precursor to early cataracts. I know, I said I felt old before – hearing the word “cataracts” thrown around when you’re 33 is not fun, but it is important.
If I had just kept putting this off, I wouldn’t have known. Doctor Choi took the time to explain to me that it’s nothing to currently worry about, there’s no sign of cataracts now, but there is a higher probability that I start develop them earlier than most. Now a yearly check-up is a lot more important to me, to make sure I maintain eye health, and don’t have any surprises as I age.
After I finished up with Doctor Choi (which only took about 20 minutes), I stepped through a glass door into Pearle Vision Upper Canada Mall and was instantly greeted by the super happy and bubbly Geneviev Poirier – and two giant walls full of frames to choose from. I walked around for a couple of minutes, trying on a dozen or so pairs, but ended up narrowing it down to the same two pairs of glasses that caught my eye as soon as I walked through the door.
Next, I sat down at the desk with an optometry student that was working there, answered a few questions, and had a specific type of lens recommended to me. It was a quick and painless 30 minutes in the store, where Geneviev and the other associates offered their opinions on the fit and style for me too (I was completely lost and which one to pick)
I’m heading out to pick up my glasses today, and I’ll be sure to update with a picture later! UPDATE: here they are! And Anna has conceded, they are not “old lady glasses”.
I’ve got to say, I really enjoyed my time here. The associates within Pearle Vision Upper Canada Mall were extremely friendly, helpful, and easy to talk to. Despite the fact that my four year-old daughter kept telling me I was going to come home looking like an old lady with glasses, I never felt like that in the store with Geneviev and Co. I recommend them to anyone looking for a new pair of glasses, because the service was beyond amazing and far surpassed anything I had expected.
The same is to be said of my eye exam with Doctor Choi as well. He made the whole experience so comfortable for me, and he did such a great job explaining all of the results to me in a way that I could understand. Anyone that can keep a 33 year-old women from freaking out after hearing the word “cataracts” knows what they’re doing. I’ve already booked my exam next year with him.
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