LASIK Eye Surgery

Well, I had the LASIK surgery and I'm here to tell about it, so you know I didn't go blind or anything.

The whole procedure was fast and painless, just as they said it would be, and my recovery was very easy too. Just lots of sleep the first day and then lots of eye drops for a while after that.

I'm still using some moisturizing eye drops now, as my eyes are quite dry without them. I guess that's a common side effect. I'm not sure if it eventually goes away, or if I'll be dry-eyed for the rest of my life, but either way it sure beats not having to put in contacts every morning.

The day went something like this:

I got to the clinic early on Friday morning. They did some more vision testing just to double check everything and gave me instructions for post-surgery care. Then I just waited to get called in for the surgery.

I think I was in the surgery room for about 10 minutes. It could have been 15. They used some drops to numb my eyes while I met and chatted with the surgeon (Dr. Bains) for a few minutes. Then they told me to lie down on the table and then proceeded to tape my left eye closed and prop my right eye open using a small tool.

Without going into too much gory detail, I will briefly explain what the surgery entails. First they make a thin flap in the cornea, and open it up (it's still attached to the surface of the eye at the top).

This first part is a little freaky because your vision goes completely black for a minute when your eye is still open. I was squeezing the stress balls the nurse gave me and was feeling grateful for the Ativan they had administered a few minutes earlier. But they do warn you ahead of time so you know it's coming.

Then they use the laser to change the shape of the corneal tissue underneath. This part is very loud. The weirdest part is that while they are lasering your eye, it starts to smell kind of bad (like you can actually smell the burning off of the corneal tissue).

The actual laser part takes about 1 minute or less per eye. Then they put the flap back down and secure it with a kind of clear contact for about 30 minutes.

After removing the contacts, they checked my eyes, gave me some really cool sunglasses to wear, and sent me home.

Scott was driving of course, but I went back the very next day and was cleared to drive myself. Twenty-four hours after surgery!

So that's it. After 18 years of needing glasses, I now have 20/20 vision, thanks to a surgery that was less painful than a trip to the dentist (and a husband who was good enough to pay for it).

I am so happy to be able to have the freedom to not wear glasses and contacts.

I love being able to open my eyes and see the clock in the morning (or middle of the night).

I love being able to nap in the middle of the day and not worry about my contacts getting wrinkled or dry or lost in the back of my head.

I love being able to fall asleep watching TV without worrying about my glasses getting broken or lost.

I love waking up and getting in the shower and being able to see what I'm doing when I shave my legs.

I love that I will be able to go swimming at the cottage this summer and not have to worry about my contacts floating away.

I could go on but I think you get the picture.