I had a cornea transplant years ago in my right eye. It's a long PAINFUL story [View all]

but it comes down to a condition called keratoconus - cone shaped cornea.

Things have been fine for years but now my eye doc tells me I need a transplant in the left eye AND no one does the old-fashioned surgery any more. I now have to go to Houston - six hours away - not once but twice.

I get it, I'm lucky that the eye can almost certainly be saved, the new procedure has better results, and a shorter recovery. But Houston?

To add insult to injury, my eye doc says "if you were my father, this is what I would recommend." TRANSLATION: Listen, old coot, this is what must be done.