I had been previously diagnosed by two ophthalmologists, one with over 40 years of respected experience, with Alternating Exotropia. Also, it was diagnosed by a neurologist specializing in peripheral nerves who has been trying to get me in to see a Nero Ophthalmologist for quite a while. But that level medical eye care is out of town and hard to get. So we were trying to get a local doctor to treat me as well.
My condition is severe causing constant double vision, blurred vision, eye pain affecting the whole area around my eyes and behind them, spasms, severe migraines, and the feeling that something is stabbing into my eye and pulling it to the side among other things. Ace Eye Care was made aware of my condition but still gave me extreme difficulty with my insurance and turned me away several times trying to get an appointment. Then they finally gave me a far off appointment. After that, it turned out their receptionist made a mistake and called to reschedule my appointment even further back without a care. Then they called me just a few days before the appointment, after all that waiting, and tried to cancel me over another one of their mistakes. Luckily, I sorted that out and kept the appointment.
They had been supplied my previous medical records showing my condition. They were also made aware that I'm 47 and this is an advanced case of exotropia, which is a nerve/muscle condition. They were also giving records showing that my eyes had been thoroughly examined finding no problems besides the exotorpia. On appointment day I was driven by medical ride service and escorted in. From there, the staff treated me with skepticism. When I finally saw Dr. Helen Jiang, I explained the severity of my problems and even mentioned that it was getting worse. I mentioned I'm beginning to see slightly double even with one eye closed or covered. Most Ophthalmologists give a proper exam with your face against a device using various lenses and having you look different directions. And it's much more involved. She basically had me stare at a huge plain letter "F" on a white background while she alternated covering each eye. And she had me follow a light briefly. Basically, she played "Peekaboo" with me and just did some fast evasive test. I don't know if she just plain forgot that this was already a well documented and diagnosed condition, or just wasn't qualified to deal with such a medical condition. But she would not listen to anything I told her and actually got rude with me. Then, while I was literally looking at a blurred, distorted view of her that was ghosted and double, she told me I had "good vision". And said she couldn't see any signs of anything. She said double vision in one eye is no concern because that just means I have cataracts. Number one, she had records showing they already examined me for those things and I don't have cataracts. Plus she could see for herself that I don't have cataracts. Not to mention, how can she say that having cataracts to the point that you get double vision in one eye is no concern? And she told me my eye pain was probably just due to "dry eyes". Then she recommended that I go see a Nero Ophthalmologist, which I was already doing anyway. I was sent away with no treatment and no return visit. Basically, she just passed me on and got rid of me.
Exotropia is a serious and painful eye condition and affects your vision in bad ways that is hard to explain. If she was not qualified then she should not take patients with that condition. And if Ace Eye Care is not equipped to treat exotropia then they should just say so to begin with. Not just play games with someone's life. Sending a severe patient out saying "I couldn't see anything wrong", especially against the diagnosis of previous experts, can lead to other medical professionals such as primary care possibly not believing your condition. Or even slowing down your ability to get treatment. The whole thing turned out to be a terrifying nightmare for me. read more