One of my aunts, who my cousins and I affectionately call “Aunt JoJo,” e-mailed me last night with the contact information for the ophthalmologist who did her LASIK surgery about 6 years ago. 

JoJo was extremely nearsighted from the time she was a small child, and she always wore contacts.  No one in our family EVER saw her wearing her glasses. 

At the age of 58, she finally decided to take the plunge and have her vision surgically corrected.  JoJo’s optometrist connected her with Dr. Anne Jacobs, who ordinarily practices at the Cleveland Clinic, but who came to Charleston to perform several LASIK surgeries in order to test the market here.  Well, JoJo’s surgery was a booming success.  She no longer needs to wear contacts, and Dr. Jacobs even fixed one of her eyes in such a manner that now she doesn’t even need bifocals. 

I’ve worn glasses since I was 6 years old, with several years of wearing contacts.  I’ve been considering LASIK surgery for the past 5 or more years, but I’ve never been able to get up my nerve to actually make a serious inquiry about it.  When I had lunch with JoJo and several other relatives last weekend, I asked her to send me the name, etc. of the ophthalmologist who did her surgery.   That’s the closest I’ve ever come to checking into this procedure, so maybe I’m inching my way towards it.  Dr. Jacobs no longer comes to Charleston, but since Cleveland is only 250 miles away, going up there to have it done would definitely be do-able.