He thought he was going to play professional soccer.
Instead, he ended up restoring sight.
In this episode of The Last Zebra, I sit down with Dr. Jonathan Carrere, a board-certified ophthalmologist from South Louisiana, to unpack a journey that’s equal parts unexpected and extraordinary.
We talk about how a childhood dream of playing for Arsenal slowly gave way to medicine, why ophthalmology wasn’t even on his radar until his third year of medical school, and how one case in the OR instantly changed everything. Dr. Carrere breaks down what ophthalmologists actually do, why eye surgery happens on structures smaller than a human hair, and how vision loss can often be prevented—if it’s caught early enough.
We also explore the art and science of restoring sight, the misconceptions people have about eye surgery (no, your eyeball is not removed), the future of ophthalmology with AI and minimally invasive techniques, and what it feels like to give someone their independence back in a procedure that takes less than 10 minutes.
This is a conversation about precision, trust, balance, and why medicine—at its best—is both deeply technical and profoundly human.
💬 Comment “ZEBRA” if this changed how you think about vision and eye health.
🎧 Watch or listen to the FULL conversation with Dr. Jonathan Carrere on The Last Zebra Podcast:
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Captivate: https://feeds.captivate.fm/the-last-zebra/
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Hosted by Dr. Ugo Ezema, The Last Zebra explores the human side of medicine—where precision, purpose, and perspective matter as much as outcomes.
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