“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” - Hellen Keller
I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to write this because I wasn't sure how fast my eyes would heal. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to see after the surgery. I had terrible eye sight, like if I were born during the days of hunting and gathering, I would for sure die pretty quickly due to not seeing oncoming attacks. I'm also pretty sure my allergies would have done me in as well. But I was lucky enough to be born in a time where glasses existed (and contacts) and then when lasers existed that could fix my eyes.
Here is how my experience went. On Wednesday I had to put drops in my eyes to prepare for the surgery on Thursday. I noticed that I don't like eye drops, but from what I hear, I'm gonna have to learn to like them because I'll be using a lot of them over the next few months if not longer.
I woke up early on Thursday, surgery day, and my dad drove me to the doctor. I was there for about two hours, but the whole procedure only took about 15-20 mins. They took me in and numbed my eyes. I was happy to take my Valium and I tried not to think about things. They had a lot of people they were working on that morning, so I sat in a waiting room for a while while the drops took hold. I just kept trying not to think about it. There rest is my subjective experience of the surgery.
Finally, they called me in and laid me down and put in a lot more drops. It was time for the first of the two lasers. Here they had to create the flap on my cornea, which they move, then treat with the second laser, put back and bam you are done. Luckily, the eye heals very quickly. So, there is this suction feeling on your eye, it doesn't hurt, but it is a bit uncomfortable. I will say the bed side manner of all the doctors was very good and made me feel very comfortable. While it was doing its work and they were counting down, at 3 or 2 they lost suction. This scared me very much, but I tried to remain calm and not say anything since I trusted the doctors. He was able to fix the flap, but all I could think was that I didn't want to be the exception where things go wrong. Then they did my left eye and it went off without a problem. For some people it goes black I was warned, and I was one of those people. Not too scary when you know it is coming. They then moved me and let me rest for a few minutes before moving me to the second laser. The first one is the hard part, but the second one they put this thing to hold your eye open that is uncomfortable I will admit, but you are almost there. Very Clockwork Orange. The laser you don't feel at all and it is just like looking at colors. Then before you know it, they are done, they cover the flap and they tape these goggles to your eyes and send you home. Other than the valium's sleepy effects, I was fine.
I came home and went right to bed and slept. The rest of the day I was supposed to not read or watch TV, but I did since I was excited. I was able to see as soon as I left, but it was a bit foggy, which is normal I'm told. When I woke up I was pretty impressed with my ability to see. The world was so clear, but I had to peek out the goggles which I had to keep on until the next morning. I removed them for putting in drops and that was when I got a preview of what was to come and I felt very good. I will say, it feels like I'm always wearing contacts. That is the closest experience I can compare it to. Funny way to put it I guess.
Most people go into work the next day, but I decided to take that day off too since I deserved it. I wanted to deal with everything at home without the stress of work. So, Friday morning, I had my one day post op exam and they said everything was healing fine, but I didn't ask how my vision tested. I have my one week on Wednesday where I will be sure to ask. It was so quick that I felt bad for having my father come with me. After, we went to the mall to buy a pair of sunglasses. I've never been a big fan of sunglasses because I'm either wearing glasses or contacts; and if contacts, I don't want the glasses feeling. The surgery did leave me a bit sensitive to light (temporary effect), so it was a good idea.
I found a nice pair of Maui Jim's. Abram recommended the brand. I think the model is called Shoreline. I'm not that good at picking out glasses, but over time I'm sure I'll get better. Here they are below.
They are pretty sweet I think and I hope to get a lot of use out of them. The rest of my time has been consumed with making sure I take my drops at the appropriate times and taking extra rest. I have a nice pair of Ray-Ban glasses I never used, but bought a year ago and thought were fake, but when I took them in, I found out that they were indeed real. I guess I should treat them a bit better now. It was like getting two pairs of glasses for one. I know the logic doesn't make sense, but it made me feel better.
On Friday night, my Dad and brother BBQed in the backyard. My dog Max, who now lives at my mom's house, had puppies because we thought my Mom's dog was way too old to have more puppies. There were four and my dad brought two up so I could pick one and raise. There was Girl Max and Brown Max as I dubbed them. I didn't want to give them real names until I decided which I wanted as to not get attached. I had my heart set on Girl Max because she looked like Max, but I discovered that she had a herniated umbilical cord, and I was concerned there could be complications after I got her surgery for it. Brown Max was the alpha male of the puppies and quite a character, but for some reason I didn't quite take a bond to him. Maybe I was still disappointed about girl max. So, I sent both puppies back home with my father and am planning on taking another one I call White Max, but will most likely name Claire. I have to spend some time with her to decide. Everyone loves puppies, and as of late I'm in a world of puppies and kittens.
I'm still fostering Maddie the kitten and my friend might come and pick her up this weekend. She is a great kitten and everyone likes her. Even my father offered to take her home with him if my friend backed out. It's not that people want kittens, it just something about Maddie that makes her extra adorable. I will say that I was glad she was busy hanging out with my dad because it made it easier for me to sleep. I'm gonna miss her when she is gone, but my cats Koki and Mia will be happy she is gone. They do not play well with others.
There are a few more details about the surgery that I don't want to talk about because it would just seem like complaining and I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from getting the procedure done because of a few negative comments specific to my case. Nothing big, just small stuff like some bruising, etc. If you know me, I'm sure I've told you a lot of the details and more than you probably care to know about it. If I had it to do again, I would for sure do it. Now, after I saw a video online of a person getting it done and all I could think was, Thank God I did not watch the video. It looks scarier from the outside looking in than from the inside looking out. The fear of watching some needle getting closer and closer to my eye was such a made up fear I don't know why I thought about it that way. I don't know, that is how I always imagined it. (No needles) If you are thinking about doing it, and can get the financing, I'd recommend it, and this is only day 3. Ask me again in a few months for a more reasoned opinion, but any small inconveniences and temporary side effects outweigh not being able to see well at all in the first place. I'm the biggest chicken when it comes to needles and blood, and thank goodness there were none of those things to deal with. The truth is that everyone I've ever talked to that got it only says great things and so far it is panning out. The care afterwards I worried about, but it isn't too bad and this is the worst part I'm sure.
I'm sure I'll share my updates over the weeks and months, but 3 entries so far on this is quite enough for the time being. I'm enjoying my 4 day weekend and have gotten in a lot of great World Cup games. I'm very excited for Mexico. Ok, well I'm off to put in some more re-wetting drops and rest my eyes, since writing this on a computer screen is probably not the brightest idea.
I woke up early on Thursday, surgery day, and my dad drove me to the doctor. I was there for about two hours, but the whole procedure only took about 15-20 mins. They took me in and numbed my eyes. I was happy to take my Valium and I tried not to think about things. They had a lot of people they were working on that morning, so I sat in a waiting room for a while while the drops took hold. I just kept trying not to think about it. There rest is my subjective experience of the surgery.
Finally, they called me in and laid me down and put in a lot more drops. It was time for the first of the two lasers. Here they had to create the flap on my cornea, which they move, then treat with the second laser, put back and bam you are done. Luckily, the eye heals very quickly. So, there is this suction feeling on your eye, it doesn't hurt, but it is a bit uncomfortable. I will say the bed side manner of all the doctors was very good and made me feel very comfortable. While it was doing its work and they were counting down, at 3 or 2 they lost suction. This scared me very much, but I tried to remain calm and not say anything since I trusted the doctors. He was able to fix the flap, but all I could think was that I didn't want to be the exception where things go wrong. Then they did my left eye and it went off without a problem. For some people it goes black I was warned, and I was one of those people. Not too scary when you know it is coming. They then moved me and let me rest for a few minutes before moving me to the second laser. The first one is the hard part, but the second one they put this thing to hold your eye open that is uncomfortable I will admit, but you are almost there. Very Clockwork Orange. The laser you don't feel at all and it is just like looking at colors. Then before you know it, they are done, they cover the flap and they tape these goggles to your eyes and send you home. Other than the valium's sleepy effects, I was fine.
I came home and went right to bed and slept. The rest of the day I was supposed to not read or watch TV, but I did since I was excited. I was able to see as soon as I left, but it was a bit foggy, which is normal I'm told. When I woke up I was pretty impressed with my ability to see. The world was so clear, but I had to peek out the goggles which I had to keep on until the next morning. I removed them for putting in drops and that was when I got a preview of what was to come and I felt very good. I will say, it feels like I'm always wearing contacts. That is the closest experience I can compare it to. Funny way to put it I guess.
Most people go into work the next day, but I decided to take that day off too since I deserved it. I wanted to deal with everything at home without the stress of work. So, Friday morning, I had my one day post op exam and they said everything was healing fine, but I didn't ask how my vision tested. I have my one week on Wednesday where I will be sure to ask. It was so quick that I felt bad for having my father come with me. After, we went to the mall to buy a pair of sunglasses. I've never been a big fan of sunglasses because I'm either wearing glasses or contacts; and if contacts, I don't want the glasses feeling. The surgery did leave me a bit sensitive to light (temporary effect), so it was a good idea.
I found a nice pair of Maui Jim's. Abram recommended the brand. I think the model is called Shoreline. I'm not that good at picking out glasses, but over time I'm sure I'll get better. Here they are below.
They are pretty sweet I think and I hope to get a lot of use out of them. The rest of my time has been consumed with making sure I take my drops at the appropriate times and taking extra rest. I have a nice pair of Ray-Ban glasses I never used, but bought a year ago and thought were fake, but when I took them in, I found out that they were indeed real. I guess I should treat them a bit better now. It was like getting two pairs of glasses for one. I know the logic doesn't make sense, but it made me feel better.On Friday night, my Dad and brother BBQed in the backyard. My dog Max, who now lives at my mom's house, had puppies because we thought my Mom's dog was way too old to have more puppies. There were four and my dad brought two up so I could pick one and raise. There was Girl Max and Brown Max as I dubbed them. I didn't want to give them real names until I decided which I wanted as to not get attached. I had my heart set on Girl Max because she looked like Max, but I discovered that she had a herniated umbilical cord, and I was concerned there could be complications after I got her surgery for it. Brown Max was the alpha male of the puppies and quite a character, but for some reason I didn't quite take a bond to him. Maybe I was still disappointed about girl max. So, I sent both puppies back home with my father and am planning on taking another one I call White Max, but will most likely name Claire. I have to spend some time with her to decide. Everyone loves puppies, and as of late I'm in a world of puppies and kittens.
I'm still fostering Maddie the kitten and my friend might come and pick her up this weekend. She is a great kitten and everyone likes her. Even my father offered to take her home with him if my friend backed out. It's not that people want kittens, it just something about Maddie that makes her extra adorable. I will say that I was glad she was busy hanging out with my dad because it made it easier for me to sleep. I'm gonna miss her when she is gone, but my cats Koki and Mia will be happy she is gone. They do not play well with others.
There are a few more details about the surgery that I don't want to talk about because it would just seem like complaining and I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from getting the procedure done because of a few negative comments specific to my case. Nothing big, just small stuff like some bruising, etc. If you know me, I'm sure I've told you a lot of the details and more than you probably care to know about it. If I had it to do again, I would for sure do it. Now, after I saw a video online of a person getting it done and all I could think was, Thank God I did not watch the video. It looks scarier from the outside looking in than from the inside looking out. The fear of watching some needle getting closer and closer to my eye was such a made up fear I don't know why I thought about it that way. I don't know, that is how I always imagined it. (No needles) If you are thinking about doing it, and can get the financing, I'd recommend it, and this is only day 3. Ask me again in a few months for a more reasoned opinion, but any small inconveniences and temporary side effects outweigh not being able to see well at all in the first place. I'm the biggest chicken when it comes to needles and blood, and thank goodness there were none of those things to deal with. The truth is that everyone I've ever talked to that got it only says great things and so far it is panning out. The care afterwards I worried about, but it isn't too bad and this is the worst part I'm sure.
I'm sure I'll share my updates over the weeks and months, but 3 entries so far on this is quite enough for the time being. I'm enjoying my 4 day weekend and have gotten in a lot of great World Cup games. I'm very excited for Mexico. Ok, well I'm off to put in some more re-wetting drops and rest my eyes, since writing this on a computer screen is probably not the brightest idea.
time to be bolder
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