5th Grade Teacher: Retinal Detachment
5th-grade Teacher: “The black dots turned into swirly spider webs”
BayState Eye Center patient, Joseph LaRaia, has the heart of a teacher… because he is one.
Mr. LaRaia is a 5th-grade teacher in Plymouth.
Here he is with his 10-year-old son, Aiden.
Joseph LaRaia and his 10 year old son Aiden
Mr. LaRaia has helped countless children for more than 16 years. But a few weeks ago, he knew he needed to help himself – and fast.
“I remember it was election day. We didn’t have school, but teachers had meetings all day. I had just gotten there and I started noticing little black dots floating around. I thought it was lint at first. I was trying to bat it away, but nothing happened,” Mr. LaRaia said.
It didn’t take long for things to get worse, unfortunately.
“The little black dots started looking more like swirly spider webs.”
“That’s when I knew something was wrong and I called BayState Eye Center,” he said.
We’re glad you did, Mr. LaRaia.
“They were able to see me a few hours later. I actually showed up a half hour early and they ushered me right into the exam chair,” he said.
It didn’t take long for Dr. Hentschel to realize Mr. LaRaia had a torn retina.
“He told me I didn’t have time to wait, so he got me to a specialist immediately and I had laser surgery that day,” Mr. LaRaia said.
- He’s back in the classroom doing what he loves most.
- His vision is getting back to normal as each day passes.
- He’ll see a surgeon in January – for a checkup.
We’re glad one of our favorite teachers called us when he needed help.
“They’re all great. I’ve been a patient of Dr. Lynch’s for a long time. I couldn’t be happier. They really care about their patients,” Mr. LaRaia said.
We sure do, Mr. LaRaia 🙂
We put your health first. It’s what we do best.
Don’t hesitate to call us if you find yourself in a similar situation as Mr. LaRaia.
We’re here to help.
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From all of us at BayState Eye Center,
Thank you for putting your trust in us
P.S. Don’t forget to see if you have any unused funds in your HSA/flex spending plans. You can use that money during your next visit if you do so before the end of the year. If not, those funds could expire!