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Several weeks ago while in port at Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, I noticed a floater in my left eye. I had previously experienced this on a couple of occasions in the past, but they had gone away pretty quickly. This one seemed darker than the previous ones and after it remained in my vision for over a week, I started to get a little concerned. So naturally I started by quizzing ChatGPT (who never steers me wrong) and also talked to a shipmate who was a Physician’s Assistant in his former life. Both suggested it could be a retinal detachment, that if untreated, could lead to serious complications. In fact, there is another resident on board the ship who is blind in one eye as a result of retinal detachment. Armed with this knowledge and advice, I promptly panicked.
Unfortunately, when I finally decided to get it checked out there was only one day before we were heading out to sea. I was unable to line up an appointment so it would have to wait until the arrival in Hong Kong four days later. Four more days of worry… not good.
We arrived on a Saturday and as soon as I could get off the boat, I headed to a hospital (courtesy of a recommendation by ChatGPT). While I was super impressed by the efficient service provided by the staff, the ER doctor did not have the expertise or equipment to make a determination. When he asked me to come back on Monday, I told him I was back on the boat to Vietnam the next day. He then went out of his way to try and find an ophthalmologist to come in and see me. Two hours and $650 US later, I thankfully found out the floater was benign. He also convinced me to look into getting my cataracts removed, something I thought I could wait many years into the future to address.
It turns out the ship has many residents and guests who have had cataract surgery so I spent the next several days learning as much as I could. Virtually all said it was a simple procedure that left them with vastly improved vision. And it turns out that the Vietnam has one of the best combinations of low cost and high quality health care anywhere in the world. And after the Odyssey’s itinerary changed once again at the last minute, I finally decided to hop off the boat and head to Hanoi.
Day 1 – Wednesday, September 9
The Odyssey is heading out to sea for a day for maintenance operations and then returning to Ha Long Bay for a few days before a slow four-day journey to Ho Chi Minh City. This change in itinerary eliminated stops in Chan May and Nha Trang so it seemed like the time to get off the boat.
Over breakfast on the ship, I sat with an acquaintance I had met a few weeks earlier who informed me he was also heading to Hanoi. Sweet! My $60 ride for the 2 1/2 hour trip just got cut in half. Along the way, I continued to email back and forth with a representative from a website called https://medicaltourismvietnam.com/. They were doing the legwork in finding me a facility that could quickly get me in for a consultation and hopefully, the procedure shortly thereafter. With any luck, I would be able to get in for the consultation a few hours after arriving in Hanoi.
After checking into the same hotel as my travel partner, I learned that the consultation would be in the morning with the procedure to follow in the afternoon.
So, what to do? When all else fails, I look for a free walking tour. They’re not really free because you are expected to tip the tour guide. But I find in every city that I find a “free” tour, the guides are excellent because they know their performance determines their income. As usual, I had a fabulous guide and good company from the other tourists in the group – a couple from Poland and a young man from Brazil.
Before the tour, I had lunch at GAO Cafe. Outstanding meal and the waitress was so nice and friendly! She taught me how to eat Vietnamese style.
The tour was great. The weather started out very warm and muggy and then a torrential rainstorm rolled in about the time we were stepping into a coffee shop. Chris, the tour guide, is also a chef and he gave us a lengthy demonstration on how to properly prepare the cream for the famous Vietnamese egg coffee. (His secret ingredient is a dash of rum.) Chris gave us all rain ponchos and we headed out to finish the tour after the rain slowed a bit.
Chris even showed us how to bargain in one of the local markets. I got a pair of knock-off Crocs for about $6 (half of the original asking price). It was great to have some dry footwear to put on. My Hokas were soaked!
Day 2 – Thursday, September 10
I couldn’t sleep so was up well before 5 a.m. The hotel has an arrangement with a nearby restaurant where the hotel guests can eat there for free. I made the mistake of having a cup of delicious Vietnamese coffee at breakfast so my heart was racing by the time I headed for DND International Eye Hospital. I thought it best to grab a Grab (like an Uber, for you Americans). Though only about a mile away and just under $1.50, the ride took almost 15 minutes. Hanoi traffic!!!
There I was greeted by a lovely young lady name Minh. She works in the marketing department but is also called upon to use her excellent English skills and serve as translator for English-speaking patients like me. She was a delight and great company as she moved me from station to station for the comprehensive evaluation, vision screenings, eye imaging, etc. that took place before meeting with the doctor.
I had an eye surgery back in 1990 that has left me with a scarred cornea in both eyes. As a result, many of the scans performed this morning had to be repeated as many as three times. So after about two hours of testing including a blood draw and urine sample, I met with the surgeon. The news was this: the scans did not produce consistent results but there was enough information to proceed with the surgery. But it would have to wait for the next day. Friday, the right eye and Saturday, the left.
When we finally finished up around lunchtime, Minh and her boss Peter treated me to lunch and a drink in a lovely coffee house afterward. We had a great conversation while learning, as always, that though we we come from different countries with very different cultures, we are more alike than different.
After relaxing back at the hotel and letting my dilated eyes return to normal, I decided to eat Indian food at Maazi, a short walk from the hotel. Man cannot live on Pho and Banh Mi alone.
Day 3 – Friday, September 11
If you have read even a few of my blog posts, you already know I can’t sleep. Last night was no exception. I was wide awake at 2 a.m., this time thinking upon my upcoming surgeries. I finally tried to get back to sleep after doom scrolling about the Republican National Convention (talk about nightmares!), I tossed and turned for a few more hours until the alarm went off at 6.
As I stepped outside to head to breakfast, I was very pleasantly surprised to not be hit by a wall of hot, humid air. In fact, it was rather pleasant. And since it was 2 and 1/2 hours before I was expected at the eye hospital, I decided to walk this morning. Google Maps (just like ChatGPT… never steers me wrong!?!?) said it was a little over a mile and 30 minutes away.
Well, let’s just say that walking in or near the Old Quarter in Hanoi is not quite like walking a mile in Bloomington, Illinois, USA. 45 minutes later, I was sweating heavily and feeling the onset of PTSD from dodging motorbikes and cars. I stopped for a fruit smoothie to catch my breath and my composure.
I arrived about 8:30 as a bus was emptying about 20 patients in front of the hospital. It is incredible the volume of surgeries that are performed here.
Minh promptly joined me. We went through a bunch of the same examinations and scans from the previous day. Interesting, you pay as you get different services performed. Yesterday, I made three separate payments during the day. Today I paid for the surgery for one eye: 29,000,000 Vietnamese dong. ($1,116.33 US!!) I can’t believe how inexpensive this is.
After changing into some sexy pajamas and getting my forehead marked to make sure the correct eye was worked on, I was in the operating room by 10:45. The procedure was painless but disconcerting as I was fully awake (well sort of, considering how sleep-deprived I am) and given no sedative. It lasted about 10-12 minutes.
After the procedure, I came back to the recovery room where my lunch was waiting for me. Quite tasty, though I’m not exactly sure what I was eating. A few hours later, Minh helped translate the discharge paperwork and explain all the drops and meds I will be on during the next few weeks. Without her, I would have been in big trouble!
I took a Grab back to the hotel where I learned an inexpensive lesson. I had left a $5 bill (US) and some small Vietnamese bills on a counter in the room. The housekeeping staff thought this was their tip and left this note. Considering how grateful the woman in the coffee shop was this morning when I left her a 15,000 dong tip (58 cents US), I imagine the housekeepers were quite happy.
I was instructed to lay low the rest of the day and evening. I ventured out to a nearby Banh Mi stand I had visited two days ago. Popular place… it took close to 30 minutes to get my sandwich. Well worth the wait.
The blogging is going surprisingly well tonight considering my right eye is still a bit blurry. Here’s hoping for a better night’s sleep as I get ready for round two.
Day 3 – Saturday, September 12
“The best laid plans of mice and men”… I guess this describes my thoughts today.
I slept fairly well for a change and was up early. As I popped out of bed, I eagerly covered my left eye to look around the room and see how good my vision was with the new and improved (???) right eye. No bueno… the vision was no better than when I went to bed last night. So I put my glasses back on (I need them for reading anyway) and got ready to head out to breakfast and then back to the eye hospital.
The first check for visual acuity revealed that my distance vision was a good bit worse than before the surgery. Ugh! But, on the plus side, everything else checked out well. My interpreter from yesterday, Minh, was not working today so the doctor and I had to try to communicate using Google Translate. Later, another young lady came in to help translate but her English skills weren’t terribly strong. After a somewhat frustrating session, I decided it wouldn’t be very prudent to proceed with surgery on the second eye and risk a similar outcome. So I have postponed it for now.
It seems the problem could be explained one of two ways: 1) the corneal irregularities caused by my past surgery will increase the amount of time for my eye to fully stabilize and recover and the vision MAY improve over time. 2) The corneal irregularities skewed the measurement used to compute the design and specifications of the implanted lens. That means I’m still wearing glasses, probably forever.
So, now what? I decided to get a new right lens made for my current glasses so that I can see in the meantime. $61 and 4 hours later, I was back in business. Right back where I started except now there’s no cataract in my right eye. See how positive I can be?
The evening ended up being quite nice. First I had dinner at Tiệm Mỳ Tiên Sơn where I enjoyed siu mai, char siu buns, and banh bao than tre. My very cute Vietnamese server spoke very good English and introduced me to roasted rice milk tea, then showed my how to mix up the condiments like a local.
After that, I headed to the famous Hanoi Water Puppet Show. It’s a one of a kind experience. Hard to describe, so enjoy some of the pictures and videos:
This was a very full day…tomorrow an excursion to Ninh Binh. and back to the eye hospital on Monday.
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