Eye doctor - STT/STJ

There is one in the mall. And you can buy a refrigerator in St John at Appliances Plus.

RL

Thanks Ronnie! We tried Appliances Plus, and they only had four refrigerators that were quite expensive. Plus, we have kind of a small space to put the fridge, so I think we'll need a lot of selection to find the one we need. What is the name of the optometrist in the mall?

When shopping for appliances, check out Home Depot, CostULess, PriceSmart and "leaving island" yard sales which are frequently advertised in the Daily News and Island Trader.

There are several optometrists on STT and you can find them through the phone book. Most are able to fill a prescription in hand or via a 'phone call prescription from your stateside optician/optometrist.

I sense that you maybe have lived on STJ for just a short while? St. Johnians regularly travel over to STT for basic supplies and certain medical needs.

Ronnie - there's an eye doctor at Market Square? Home Depot, the cinema, CostULess, Kokopelli, the gym and the pet store? Where be de eye doc? XXX

Been on St. John for a year and four months, and fiance's been here seven years, but we try to avoid going to St. Thomas...nothing against the bigger island, I just don't like having to deal with the barges. Plus, I'm not familiar with the island and where I'm going, and I've gotten quite used to one-lane roads and no traffic lights, so the roads there scare me. We've managed to only go to St. Thomas for shopping trips once in the time that I've been here.
Anyway, thanks everyone for all your help!

I said mall, as in Tutu Park. Craig Freidenberg is his name.

RL

Sorry, Ronnie - Andrea266 was asking about an optometrist in the location of Home Depot which is at Market Square where of course Craig is not but Pearle Vision is of course in Tutu Park Mall. Actually Craig isn't with Pearle any more - sold and retired just recently!

Andrea266, you've been living on STJ for over a year and are scared to drive on STT and intimidated by the barge trip and the roads on the "big island"?

Oh well, one tries to help and give advice but if you don't want to travel over to STT for basics and basic medical/eye care, then you might eventually find life on STJ very self-limiting. Many St. Johnians make regular shopping/restaurant trips over to STT and have done so for many years while many St. Thomians are employed on STJ and either car-barge or ferry over daily to do their business. If you can drive on STJ, driving on STT is a cinch!

Cheers!

I am sorry but my perception of 'close to Home Depot' is the mall. They do have to pass by there to get to Home Depot anyway. If they ever get around to buildng the new road, it will be even closer!

RL

typically for first time contact lens wearers, an optometrist will do your exam and fit you for a sample pair of contacts that you then wear only part of each day for the first week or two as your eyes get used to the experience. You usually go back to the optometrist for him/her to check the fit and reaction of your eye after about a week. At that point, they either adjust your prescription/fit or go ahead and order your supply of contacts if the first set is working well for you. I doubt you are going to find an eye doctor who will fit you in one visit and then send you contacts by mail without doing that follow up visit. Their malpractice insurance wouldn't cover them if your eye was reacting badly and they didn't catch it because they ignored the standard second visit.

I've worn contacts for nearly 30 years and far prefer them to glasses. Take very good care of them, however, and don't get lax about hygiene when putting them in your eyes or taking care of them when they are out of your eyes. One of my sons lost most the sight in his left eye after tropical storm Jeanne came across two years ago and some kind of microbe was flourishing in the environment we had in the several days we were without power and running water. He got something under his contact and it burrowed into his cornea and resulted in a horrific infection. He was lucky not to lose his eye and some of his sight has come back over time. But it will never be the same and he'll probably have to have a cornea transplant someday.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from getting contacts, just saying that there are unseen hazards you should be aware of and be very careful in how you handle your new lenses. Ignore the high cost of lens solution and use it freely to rinse. Eyes are rather fragile.

Yep, I sure am intimidated by getting on the barge and driving on St. Thomas, which is why I like to wait until I have more than one reason (ie, broken glasses and dying refrigerator) before I'll make the trip.
No, I don't exactly want to travel to St. Thomas, but I will do it for necessities like eye care...and I'd never let the fact that I have to get on the barge and drive on unfamiliar roads for certain necessities sway my decision to live on St. John. Living here is absolutely worth it. I'm sure many St. John and St. Thomas residents travel back and forth between the two island, but I'm not one of the many!
Thanks, STT Resident...I was hoping to find an optometrist in Tutu, so I will be giving Pearle a call. And thanks Alexandra for all the advice on contacts...I've only had glasses for less than a year, and am nervous about going to contacts, so advice like this is appreciated.