drnataliechai

✨You Can Do Hard Things!✨
Me: “What do you want to do for date day?”

Dylan: “Hmm … Let’s go walk around the UofA campus”
Some couples do movie nights and others do a fancier dinner … yea, we’re weird lol
Over this month, a lot of my young patients have shared emotions of dread, anxiety, and even fear with the start of this new school year. For parents and grandparents, most are relieved to get back into a routine but also worries about their kids!
Some students were back last week but all will be back tomorrow, including University. (This was the only room open yesterday as we were gallivanting trying not to get caught!) As I sit in the seat that I mostly sat in during undergrad, working on getting into optometry school at the ETLC building, it took me back to those emotions. I’m even personally getting anxious with how my own schedule is going to go with extremely busier clinic, conferences, presenting, meetings, personal health stuff etc.
I had microbiology, anatomy, physiology and botany in this room in this lecture hall and approximate seat (yes, I know I was that keener at the front 🫣)
Just wanted to say, we got this and that we can all do hard things and though we may be fearful, let us all enter into a season of expectancy that we will all come out wiser and stronger! 🤗
wecandohardthings

✨EyeOpener Round Tables - Sun Pharma✨
It was a joint discussion with Edmonton’s newest double board certified ophthalmologist specializing in cataract surgery, corneal disease, and uveitis, Dr. Samir Nazarali.
Topics Discussed:
✨Dry Eye Masqueraders
✨The Next Frontier: Up & Coming Therapies
Thank you Sun Pharma for supporting this great evening with colleagues with one of the last events before the summer!

✨End Of An ‘Era’✨
I am completely aware this is a silly post, but in a way there is an important sentimental value to this “little car-of-mine-that-could!” I’ve had this car since 2008! This Kia Rio5 was my first car after high school and going into University.
It’s been with me through optometry school in Forest Grove, Oregon, on most of my internship rotations, through crazy snow storms driving through the BC pass, my early days as a new grad grinding through multiple offices, and multiple moves. It’s never given me any problems outside from normal maintenance and thank God, I was never in an accident. Lots of memories in an important phase of my life!
I really tried to get an additional two years out of it to make it to 20 years, but 18 years is not too shabby for “driving it into the ground”
Even though my husband thought it was silly that I have an attachment to a car, he offered to take a picture for me 🤭
It’s time for an upgrade … I guess? Just give me a moment 🥲

✨🚨 New Product Alert 🚨 Thealoz TOTAL ✨
We are honoured to be one of the FIRST clinics in Alberta and Canada to offer and retail this NEW eye drop before it becomes available to the rest of the country!
Thealoz TOTAL is the first peptide-based eye drop! Key ingredients include:
✨Hyaluronic Acid
✨Trehalose
✨N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamic acid (NAAGA)
What does this mean for you? The key features of this eye drop include:
✅ Addressing inflammation BEFORE it starts
✅ Anti-allergy properties
✅ Immediate soothing sensation
✅ Reducing redness (what a bonus!)
✅ Contact lens wear compatible
Thealoz TOTAL is for everyone and all dry eye patients. If you would like to elevate your dry eye regimen, support your in-office treatments, or improve contact lens comfortability, they are available NOW at Trifecta Optometry!

✨Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) with IMAX Spurs Inc.✨
Not to be confused with EAL (English as an Additional Language) 🤦🏻‍♀️ FULL transparency this is where my brain immediately went when I was first introduced to this field. Humbly silly of me .. sorry Brandy! (Must be the Asian part of me 🫣)
We were grateful to be part of opening weekend a few weeks ago and honestly wasn’t sure what we were getting ourselves into but it was such an impactful experience that I just have to share!
Though Dylan and I have been together for 15 years, married for 6, our third team mate (our horse! 🐴) revealed some gaps in how we communicate as we worked through the objectives! Yes… a horse did that. Our 15 years did show with our high trust for each other working through the pivots we needed to make (yay!) 🤭
Whether it is a date night, team building for your small business, or just wanting to hang out with horses, I would highly recommend as a unique way to facilitate personal growth and leadership. We will certainly be back with our team ☺️
We are pictured here with Roxy! We fell in love with her - she was so patient with us when we had no idea what we were doing. Though I am still extremely allergic to horses even after five years or immunotherapy shots, I will pop antihistamines any day and suffer with itchy and red eyes to do this again 😂
Thank you for capturing these moments with Roxy as they are fond memories for us now! Thank you for allowing us into your life … literally - so proud to see all of your hard work come to fruition! You’ve been sharing this in spurts with us since knowing you for a short 1.5 years, but I feel there is a depth to our relationship! Privileged to know you professionally and now as a friend! We know doors will be opening for you 🙏
Connect with and to learn more and see what’s possible!

✨NTE West Eye Recommend 2026✨
This year it was held in Calgary and we were excited to bring a few of our staff with. (We were a two-man wolf pack back in 2024 and it was quite lonely - we knew we were never going back town NTE without staff)
Favourite highlights:
💫 Trade show and learning from the vendors and suppliers
💫 Keynote speakers and listening to their inspiring stories
💫 Championing myopia management for staff
💫 Team bonding and learning more about each other
💫 Reconnecting with colleagues and friends from industry
Thank you to the organizers, planners and staff from EyeRecommend for a wonderful event, making it a special one for the team!
Special shout out to our business coach Charlene and training coach Brandy from EyeRecommend for being such strong pillars for us at Trifecta Optometry! Our progress and growth has been unequivocally because of their steadfast dedication in believing in us. 💕

✨EyePrint Mold-Based Scleral Lenses✨
EyePrint scleral lenses are excellent for everybody! The misconception of specialty contact lenses only for diseased eyes or irregular eyes is not true. Scleral lenses are fantastic for anyone who is looking for an alternative to correct their vision.
Here I am, getting my own molding done for my own lenses! I have dry eye and soft contact lens intolerance like a lot of you and I have chosen (finally) to wear scleral lenses to get me back in contact lenses again! Because it is a mold, it provides a hand in glove fit to be the most tailored custom contact lens on the market!
Give our office a call to learn more about these lenses, and if they can fit within your lifestyle! These lenses have changed the lives of our patients and I can’t wait for mine 😊
Location! 📍
Trifecta Optometry
1031 Parsons Road SW
Edmonton, AB T6X 0X2
Phone: 587-735-3970

✨Schirmer’s Test✨▫️▫️▫️
It is an important part to diagnostic testing and helps tease out important challenges as well as screening for an autoimmune disease called Sjögren’s Syndrome.
A lot of focus has been on MGD however we all know that almost 100% of the time, there is a mixture.
I was coaching my great staff on how to properly do the Schirmer 1 - instilling anesthetic, clearing the inferior fornix of existing tears before applying the strips for 5 minutes. This tests basal tearing and the function of the lacrimal gland.
The strips far left are mine .. I am in trouble it looks like. 😟 Middle is Trista’s .. not too bad for Edmonton’s dry climate. And far right is Brittany’s .. every dry eye patients DREAM lol 😆
Do you test for it for your patients?
Schirmer’s 1 or 2 or both?
Have you had it tested on yourself?