What began as a normal day shopping for sunglasses became the catalyst of an adventure.

This was the third optical store I'd visited that day, seemingly the last store for miles in my insurer's network. In a way, I'm a simple shopper; I don't care about the style of glasses as much as I care about whether they fit my somewhat small head, and I don't care about their color as much as I care about them being affordable. Everything else is a layer of luxury.

But this time was different. I wasn't shopping for any normal pair of glasses, I was in the market for my first ever pair of sunglasses. My poor vision required a high-index (extra sharp) pair of prescription sunglasses, which are no less an investment than regular eyeglasses. By now, though, I was ready to invest. And I was confident that this was the store to finally win my business.

But this wasn't the case. The cheapest pair yet—covered by insurance, even—came out to just over $500. I entered with the intent to purchase, but was only frozen by the quote. How could it be that sunglasses are half a grand? Although I spent the next twenty minutes trying on different pairs of sunglasses, I had already made up my mind: I was going to leave this store without a pair, squinting into the hazy Chicago sun once more and for eternity.

Feeling stuck in this loophole of poor vision insurance and outrageous price tags, LASIK suddenly didn't seem so expensive. In fact, laser eye surgery was beginning to look like the much better investment.

Anger catalyzes action like nothing else, and is the reason I immediately reached out to eye surgery institutes. But, after looking at a handful of Chicago eye institutes, I wondered what eye surgery abroad might look like. A triangulation of Google searches led me to the Refractive Center in Prague, Czechia. What caught my eye was an entire section on its website: "For foreignors." So I emailed.

Hello,

I am a citizen of the USA who is interested in visiting Prague this summer and would like to do a corrective laser eye surgical procedure while I'm there. I would love to explore my options for this and maybe get an appointment scheduled for sometime between July 10 and August 16. I am also curious if you know the costs of laser eye surgery for both eyes.

Thanks very much,

Chris

What followed was a level of professionalism and detail that disarmed me of my American ethnocentrism. In the first email response, they sent the price of laser eye surgery per eye and for each type of eye surgery; more info on each type of surgery; an exchange rate for Euros; a breakdown of the procedure; a pre-procedure checklist; availability for July 10-11; an online questionnaire; and some kind regards to top it all off. Further, they (Barbora was my point person) answered each of my follow-up questions with care, each time nudging me closer to commitment. For half the price of laser eye surgery in Chicago, I could get the same procedure done in Prague, where my partner and I have always wanted to go anyway. OK, let's do it.

We got to Prague early to do some sightseeing, but when the weekend was over, it was all (eye) business.

Monday: I had several eye exams to make sure my vision had not changed since receiving my last vision prescription (-6.75, -5.25 with an astigmatism), as well as a pupil dilation and a few eye scans to make sure my cornea was thick enough to receive laser treatment. The eye doctor was extremely competent and spoke fluent English. His expertise and communication style really put to rest any remaining concerns I had about the surgery. Given how bad my eyes were, my partner and I were surprised I qualified for LASIK, but also assured that if there was any doubt, they wouldn't have let me move forward.

Importantly, I was told that I'd need a pair of sunglasses for after the surgery. We used the rest of the day eating good Czech food and searching the shops for my first pair of sunglasses. My first pair, at 26 years old! Writing about this moment makes happy even now, a month later.

Tuesday: On the day of the surgery, I don't recall being nervous but they gave me what they called a "tranquilizer" anyway. This probably helped relax me during the actual procedure, as I'm incredibly squeamish with eye stuff (so I won't detail it here). After a quick twenty minutes on the operation table (only one of which was for the laser), I was released to the waiting room to give myself periodic eye drops. After 2 hours in total, I got the greenlight to pop on my new sunglasses and head back to the hotel.

Wednesday: Today was the morning check-up during which all surgery patients from the previous day were to show up between 8:00 and 8:30 to sit down with the eye doc for one final check-up. Today, I could see, and the doc told me that my eyes were healing extraordinarily fast for someone who had eye surgery just 15 hours prior. Talk about reassurance!

For reference, below is my vision uncorrected and corrected:

The surgery went great, and a month later, as I write this, I can see well, and have not had any pain or discomfort. My left eye is still recovering from a hemorrhage, which is normal from the suction cup used in the procedure. It left some redness on the eye white but has been fading away with each passing day.

I did have one minor incident during which I woke up with uncorrected vision in my right eye that returned later that morning. I messaged the eye doc on WhatsApp to get an explanation, and he told me it is normal to happen a few weeks after surgery, and that it's just from temporary dryness. In other words, nothing some extra artificial tears can't solve.

Overall, I am very pleased with my decision to get LASIK, and especially to do it abroad, which opened my mind and truly changed my life. Although medical tourism can be spotty, as long as you do your research, the risks you take in a procedure abroad should not be different from the risks you take getting the procedure in the United States. And if it's any complement, the eye care I received from the doctor, surgeon, and staff at the Refractive Eye Center in Prague was definitely the best eye care I've ever received.

Yet, perhaps the best part of all of this is that I now have an answer to that summer sun.