Penn Hills officer died by suicide after complications from Lasik eye surgery, parents say
Tim and Stefanie Kingerski never wanted to welcome TV cameras into their home, but say they raised a loving, joyful and loyal son, and they want people to hear his story.
Ryan Kingerski remembered as "witty, charming, smart"
To know him was to love him. Ryan Kingerski lit up a room, bringing so much pride to his parents.
"Witty, charming, smart, a lot of fun to be around," mom Stefanie said.
They say Ryan found joy in all of his relationships: with his friends, his girlfriend and his twin brother.
"Just vibrant and full of life. He loved to do stuff with family, friends. He and I played golf on a regular basis, him and his brother spent tons of time together," said dad Tim.
Ryan's parents say his passion for police work started as a young boy, idolizing his dad.
(Photo: Provided)
"They wanted to be policemen since they were little boys. They were always having matchbox cars in each hand and that they'd be a policeman when they grew up," Stefanie said.
Once he joined the force, Ryan's parents worried about his safety, but they didn't give a second thought to him getting Lasik eye surgery.
"No, we had no thought of that," Stefanie said. "He was very excited because they often tout — Lasik often touts — that you go in and within three days —"
"Simple and effective, routine surgery," Tim said. "That he would be back to work in a couple days."
But Ryan would never put on his uniform again.
Struggling with Lasik surgery's side effects
After what his parents describe as a tragically unsuccessful surgery, they say Ryan struggled to resolve debilitating side effects: headaches, floaters, dark spots and double vision.
"He kept saying how bad the pain in his head was. He had a terrible headache and wasn't able to focus and the vision and the blurriness and everything else and that just continued."
Tim would drive Ryan to appointment after appointment with specialist after specialist, hoping to find someone who could ease Ryan's discomfort.
At that point, Ryan's parents said he was "not good," "disgusted" and "full of regret."
"Regret was the big thing. 'Why would they do this to me? Why would they not tell me?'" Stefanie said.
"'This is a doctor that I trusted.' He went on social media, he posted his experience. They sent us a letter dropping him as a patient," Tim said.
In January, Ryan took his own life.
"He left us a note that said, 'I can't take this anymore. Lasik took everything from me.' That's the note that we got left," Tim said.
"That's what we were left with," Stefanie said.
KDKA Investigates reached out to the doctor who operated on Ryan's eyes at the LasikPlus office on McKnight Road, asking if he would sit down for an interview. LasikPlus declined to do an interview, but sent a statement saying, in part:
"Legal requirements prevent us from speaking to the specifics of any patient, but suicide generally cannot be reduced to any single cause. To be clear, there is no clinical evidence linking suicide to LASIK eye surgery."
And to questions about how LasikPlus addresses any potential risks, the office said:
"Each such patient is provided with a copy of the informed consent form at the pre-operative appointment for review -- typically days in advance of the subsequently scheduled treatment. The consent form addresses the recognized risks, benefits and alternatives of the proposed procedure."
Social media page shares Lasik stories like Ryan's
"People are going to watch this and say it's mental health. This wasn't a mental health," Tim said. "It had nothing to do with mental health, so they are free to judge and say whatever they want to say. I know that my son before his surgery and after his surgery were two completely different people."
Ryan's story was shared on a social media platform run by Hayden Hutchins. Hutchins experienced complications from Lasik and now spends hours each day sharing content about Lasik and stories like Ryan's.
"Is Ryan's story unique in what you've found?" Meghan asked.
"All these people, Ryan included, like every single story that I hear, it's more or less the same, you know? This patient was told that they were perfect for this surgery that was completely safe, you know, 99.99% success rate, so they were told they were perfect for it, and with that information, they made a decision to get it," Hutchins said.
Ryan's dad Tim was with him the day of his surgery and alleges that's exactly what the doctor told him. Hutchins believes much like his own experience, people dealing with complications afterward often feel dismissed.
"And then when they experienced issues afterwards, most of the time, issues that they were not told about at all, they are met with dismissal, gaslighting, you know, that, 'They're still healing. They'll be fine. It's nothing to worry about,'" Hutchins said.
Hutchins' experience changed the trajectory of his life. He's now studying to become an optometrist, with his conversations with Ryan and thousands of others as his motivation.
"I just think people deserve to have more information. There's no harm in having more information. If I had seen a page like mine before getting Lasik, I would not have gotten the surgery, and that's what I want to be for other people," Hutchins said.
About 500,000 Americans undergo Lasik every year, and the American Refractive Surgery Council says the complication rate is less than 1 percent, pointing out how successful Lasik has been for most people.
But if you ask Ryan's parents, one life is too many.
"I just know a guy who talked about how fabulous his life was and how happy he was. We now visit in a cemetery," Stefanie said.
If you or someone you know might be at risk of suicide, there is help. In the U.S., call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.
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