from almost blind to 20/20
I got glasses in 2nd grade. I remember the day very well. I went into the doctor's office with fuzzy vision and when I walked out with my new glasses, I could see the leaves on the trees. It was really amazing.
In 6th grade I got contact lenses. Not having to wear dorky glasses was a relief.
My vision increasingly deteriorated for the next 10 years. Every year, I would go back to the doctor and get a stronger prescription.
When I was maybe 10(?), my mom took me and my sister with her to Montreal to get LASIK (I'm not even sure it was called that back then). She had really poor eye-sight and was almost legally blind. The doctor let us watch the procedure from a large glass window that looked into the operating room. It was amazing. In a matter of minutes, her vision was corrected. When she woke from the doctor madated sleep, she could see. Without glasses or contacts. She could just see.
Ever since that day, I dreamed of getting LASIK. I asked to get LASIK as my graduation present from college. I wanted it so badly.
After putting it off for a few years due to cost, I finally decided to take the plunge. I had my free consultation and was confirmed to be a good candidate for the procedure. I scheduled my surgery for after the holidays and patiently waited.
The Process:
About a week before the surgery, I had to stop wearing my contacts. I still made it to swim practice and, surprisingly, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to swim blind.
I had a pre-op appointment on Thursday (day before surgery) to confirm that my eyes were still healthy and that I'd have good results from the surgery. Everything looked good so I got the green light.
C dropped me off at the office at 8:30am Friday morning. I was called back into the surgery waiting room and offered a valium to help relax and ease nerves. I gladly accepted it. After a brief video and instructions from the nurses, I was ushered into another room just outside of the laser room and told to lay back with my eyes closed.
Soon after, the doctor greeted me and answered any questions. I was then brought into the operating room and laid on another chair/bed. A nurse put all sorts of washes and drop in my eyes to numb/clean them. I rested there for another 5 minutes or so with my eyes closed. They do this step inside the operating room so that you can hear the laser and be prepared for what it will sound like.
I was then moved to the operating table. I laid back in the head rest and the doctor explained the process. First, the laser would make the incision to create the flap in my cornea. This was the most uncomfortable part. Some sort of device presses down very hard on your eye ball to keep it steady while the flap is cut. It only takes about 10-15 seconds per eye but it was quite painful.
Next, vision correction. They correct one eye at a time and it only takes a matter of seconds. The doctor asked me to focus on a green light and follow it no matter what. In 22 seconds, my right eye was done. In 18 seconds, my left eye was done. After all of 3-4 minutes, my vision was corrected to 20/20. Just like that. When I sat up from the procedure, I could basically see.
My eyes were checked by the doctor and then I was sent to another room to rest for 20 minutes. C was called to pick me up and that was it! I was sent home with lots of eye drops and some really sweet goggles to wear while I slept.
I was provided with a sleeping pill because you are required to sleep for 4-5 hours immediately following the procedure. The pill was heaven. I passed out hard and didn't wake up until C came home from work. I was able to drag myself out of bed to eat some dinner but quickly fell back asleep for another 2-3 hours.
By Saturday morning, I was basically seeing 20/20. It was such an amazing experience. I can't believe I waited so long to do this! I'm so thankful that I had a smooth and easy procedure and I would highly recommend it to anyone with poor vision. The 1 minute of discomfort is worth it for a life time of perfect vision.
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