A new vision - Off Topic

[Rob & Helen Goodale]

--Off Topic--.

Well I finally did it.  After 20 +/- years of wearing glasses I had enough.  Yesterday I went in and got LASIK surgery to rid myself of them forever.  I have to admit from the beginning I was a nerve wreck, after all we're talking about someone coming toward my eyes with medical instruments intending to change the way my eyes work!  What if something goes wrong?  Do I really want to do this?  It's my eyes after all!  I'm thinking to myself what it would look be like walking with a cane for the rest of my life.  Okay, I could be a blind tuner, there are a few of those around.  But aside from that I'm thinking all kind of awful things.  Aaaaaaagh!!!  Okay reality time.  I keep hearing stories about "it's no big deal" and "You won't feel a thing".  Okay time to be brave, maybe it's not so bad.  So I go in for all my preliminary exams.  The typical thing looking at letters on the wall and such.  They determine what prescription is appropriate and an appointment is set.  Okay, here we go...

Yesterday I went in at 10:00 as scheduled.  A little nervous but okay.  The first thing they give me is a Valium pill.  Ahhhhh, okay that's relaxing.  Then comes a series of eye drops, each with a different purpose.  Some are numbing, some are lubricating, some do other things I have no idea.  Nevertheless I sit and wait for a half hour for the drops and the Valium pill to kick in.  Sure enough I'm feeling nice and mellow.  The anxiety edge has been smoothed over, and they lead me into the operating room.  Did you hear me, the "OPERATING" room.  This is it!  More drops in my eyes and then the doctor looks and me and takes a marker pin, (I assume a special type, not a sharpie), and literally makes marks on my eyes while I'm sitting there.  He is literally coming at my eyes with a marker and I don't even care, imagine that!!

So now they have me lay down on a padded table somewhat resembling a massage table with contours to make it comfy.  Above me is an apparatus with various lights and gismos attached.  A green light is dead center and I'm told to stare at it.  By this time the drops have made my vision a bit blurry but I can see the light.  More drops, and then some kind of big wegit goes against my eye and applies some light vacuum pressure.  No big deal, but the light above gets fuzzier with each step.  "Keep looking at the light, don't look away, just keep centered on it" he says.  Another thingy comes down over my eye and there's a noise and a little vibration.  What's he doing?  By golly he is CUTTING my eye!   He's removing the outer cornea layer.  Well not quite all the way, there is just enough remaining to act as a hinge and it's folded open.  Forget the light, I see nothing.  The lens part of my eye is missing, it's like looking through an ice cube under water.  All I can see is ambient light, no details of any kind

 "Here we go" he says.  The laser is turned on and scans across my entire eye, removing just enough material to properly reshape the exposed surface to the proper optical dimension.  Not only is there absolutely no pain, I can't even see it.  The laser works in a spectrum not normally visible.  The only evidence that it's working is the pleasant smell of your eye-flesh being burned away.  Within less then 15 seconds it's all done.  He cleans things up with some sort of drops, closes the flap to wear it goes, applies a little pressure to make sure it's all the way down, wipes it the surface with some sort of squeegee-like thingy, and he says "ALL DONE".  Excuse me, did he say "done"?  That's it?  The other eye seems to go even quicker.  Within about three minutes I'm sitting up getting ready to leave!  He looks at my eyes through some sort of scope thingy, the nurse gives me some drops to take home, and they tell me to take it easy for the rest of the day.  "It will be itchy and irritated for the next few days, just don't rub it".

This morning I wake up and.... and...  I can see!  I can see WITHOUT my glasses!  As the hours pass it gets better and better as the cloudiness disappears.  I returned to the office this morning where he re-examines me through the scope again.  "Perfect" he says.  "In a week you'll see better then you ever have in your life".  So here I am about 26 hours later after the operation and I'm already seeing better then I did with the glasses.  There is a little irritation but no real pain to speak of.  I'm a little sensitive to bright light but that's normal and they gave me a pair of sunglasses.

So the bottom line:  If you have ever considered LASIK, my advise is DO IT!  It's no big deal, it doesn't hurt, most of the irritation is only the apprehension, it's easier then going to the dentist, it's over in 10 minutes, and you will never have to deal with prescription glasses again.  EVER.  I highly recommend it.

Rob "seeing clearly" Goodale
Las Vegas, NV



 

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