I fit a new patient with opaque contact lenses. He wrote a bad check and never showed up for his follow-up appointment. We contacted him, he scheduled another appointment and was to take care of his balance but didn’t show again! The following week my office was broken into through my exam-room window and the only things taken were opaque contacts! I was suspicious. Police took fingerprints, but no match. Fast forward several weeks, I’m reading the newspaper and a person of similar description was arrested for breaking through a window at the local College Financial Aid office. I called the police and the fingerprints were a match! Imprisoned? Nope, he wrote a bad check to the bail bondsman and got out. But sometimes paths cross. One of the policemen on the case was at a plastic surgeon’s office with his son, who exclaimed “Look at the man with the funny blue eyes.” Sure enough, he matched our suspect’s description. He put two-and-two together and asked the receptionist for information but her hands were tied thanks to HIPPA. However, she did politely suggest a convenient time for his son’s next visit. Bingo! Apprehended in office, wearing stolen contacts, tickets to Amsterdam in his pocket and waiting for a nose reconstruction. All paid for with bad checks! Sometimes optometry prevails! — Dave S., San Luis Obispo, CA
This article originally appeared in the February 2017 edition of INVISION.