I haven't updated the last few days, but only because I've felt so great that I have been out and about and working and doing other things after going stir-crazy in my room for 5 days. So here is a quick update:
I had my 2nd follow-up appointment on Sunday. I took out my contacts in the morning and was disappointed because my eyes were much more blurry after taking the contacts out. The contact lenses have a slight correction, so I thought "crap, does this mean I'll still need contacts or glasses?" but I reassured myself with the knowledge that PRK can cause some fluctuating blurriness for quite a while due to the healing.
Matt drove me to my appointment and it was really quick. The doctor checked my eyes, blood pressure, and vision, and that was pretty much it. He said everything looked good and the blurriness was more likely due to the healing and my eyes discomfort than anything else. He put numbing drops in my eyes, and things cleared up a little bit, which supported his explanation (that once my eyes were more comfortable it would get less blurry).
He also told me that my vision was good enough to drive. At one point he took out these lenses and put them in front of my eyes and said "This is what it used to look like without glasses" and I responded "Trust me, I remember!"
Monday and Tuesday I drove myself to work without any mishap, and with the exception of a headache Monday morning (which was probably due to not eating breakfast more than anything else), I haven't had pain or discomfort or gotten too tired looking at a computer screen, or anything!
I had lunch with some friends on Monday and exclaimed, "Guess what? I have new eyeballs!" and told them about my surgery and they were in shock that I'd had surgery only 5 days prior and was seeing and functioning perfectly fine.
All in all, it's been really wonderful. I am so happy I had this surgery. I still have these moments where I realize that I can see everything and that I'm not wearing contacts and I'm just so overcome by how blessed I am that I'll tear up (happy tears) and just say "I CAN'T BELIEVE I CAN SEE!!!"
Matt keeps asking me when I'll get over it haha.
I think it will take me awhile until I go to bed and wake up without my last and first thought being "I need to take out my contacts...oh wait, I'm not wearing any contacts" and "Shit, did I sleep in my contacts? Oh wait, I'm not wearing any contacts."
But even once I'm used to it, I hope I never really "get over it." I hope I'm always grateful and feel blessed, not entitled.
I may not have been totally blind, and with glasses and contacts I could function perfectly well in society, but I still feel comfortable saying that going from a -6.50 prescription and total dependence on glasses and contacts to perfect vision...I can at least imagine how the man in John 9:1-7 must have felt when Jesus gave him sight.
We take so much for granted, and we sometimes think we're entitled to certain things. As a human being, it was God's intent for me to have love, happiness, and life, complete with all 6 amazing senses He created. But not everyone is so lucky while on Earth.
I know some people would say "A surgeon gave you your sight, not God. And a scientist before him was the one who discovered how," and that's true, but God created that scientist and that surgeon with the minds and skills they have... I believe that He inspired that scientist and watched over me when the surgeon was doing his thing. I also believe that God led me to this job that I have, which allowed me to afford such a luxury. It's OK with me if you disagree, but I will praise God anyhow.
Merry Christmas to you, and a very Happy New Year! God Bless <3
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Day Four is Kind of a Bore
I had another amazing night of sleep and I'm now out of Vicodin and sleeping pills. The good news on the Vicodin is that I can drink now (yaay!) so Matt and I split a bottle of red wine last night with dinner.
Cue my mother calling me a lush.
My sleep was undisturbed except for two moments - the first time I was awoken by a sharp pain in my right eye. It went away and I fell back asleep. The second moment was a sharp pain in my left eye, which also went away quickly, but I decided it might be prudent to take some ibuprofen to stay ahead of any potential pain curve.
I'm past the 48 hour mark (it was actually yesterday around noon), which is supposed to be the worst part. Mornings have been the worst so far, but this morning was really not so bad.
I woke up around 11am without any pain. My right eye is still a little blurry, but not as bad as yesterday. So far today I've had breakfast, washed dishes, and listened to more of Amy Poehler.
I'm extremely bored.
It has been relaxing to lay around, but it has also been extremely boring. Matt drove down to Illinois early this morning with his mom's boyfriend, Myles, to drive back a car that Myles was purchasing and I'm so so bored. I suggested last night that maybe I should go with them and we should spend the day in Chicago, since they were headed that way anyway, but I wasn't sure how I would feel today so I ended up scrapping that plan. Right about now, I'm wishing I had said "Let's do it!" but hindsight is 20/20. And so is my normal sight! Well, almost.
I did have pretty bad dry eye yesterday, but I think it was mainly due to the contacts I'm wearing. They're extended wear and thus intended to be able to sleep in them, but they've been feeling increasingly dry.
My doctor told me that if one falls out on the floor or something to just leave it and not worry, and they also told me that I would be able to take them out on Sunday but I should put them in a contact case in case I feel the need to put them back in. So from that information, I deduced the following:
1. It's not the end of the world if the contact comes out before Sunday
2. It's ok to take the contact out and then put it back in
So, yesterday before dinner, I took the contacts out, put them in a case with some solution and let them soak for a bit, hoping it would make them feel a little less dry.
The purpose of the contact is to protect the vulnerable, recently-lasered surface of my eye from the air and all the fun things that float around in it, but also from my eyelids. The doctor said having your eyelid slide over the surface of the eye constantly after PRK can really irritate the eye and be extremely painful. The contact acts as a barrier or protector of the eye.
When I took the contacts out, it did feel a bit tender. It wasn't the worst thing in the world to blink, but I could see how it would be very irritating to blink over and over. So, I mostly sat there with my eyes closed and shook the case around a little bit, then put those suckers back in.
And it did feel a little better. A more long-term soak probably would have helped more, but I was kinda nervous.
I think it would be reeeally hard to deal with this surgery if you had never worn contacts before. Honestly, the most consistently irritating thing since the surgery has been the dryness of the contact, and at one point I think one of my eyelashes was poking at it or under it, which was a fairly common and annoying occurrence as a contact wearer. If I had never dealt with those feelings before, I would probably be freaked out. Also the doctor said for people who've never worn contacts before, they have to actually come into the office and have the doctor take the lenses out for them 5 days later. Weird.
Something else that's weird and ironic and makes me feel like things really do happen for a reason is that the little bit of pain I have experienced is actually very, very similar to pain I've felt before...in 2011 when I burnt the top and middle layer of my cornea when I misused my brother's Clear Care solution. It happened on the 4th of July and my eyes were super light sensitive and pretty painful..yet I still went to Cedar Point the next day (priorities, yo).
I also got a bunch of drops to help with the pain, and I'm pretty sure one of the drops is the same as what I'm using now (at least they were both steroid drops with pink caps). So not only do I have experience with using said drops, but I also have felt this cornea pain before, and I understand how a contact can act as a bandage. A couple months after I burnt my eye, I was back to wearing contacts because the people from the Urgent Care in Grandville has told me I could. But I was waking up with this weird pain, popping in contacts, and then the pain would feel better throughout the day. I finally went to an eye doctor in Chicago who explained the severity of the damage to my cornea and that my contact was acting like a bandage, but every time I took it out at the end of the day, it was tearing some of the healing away.
At the time I was terrified and angry and wanted to sue ClearCare and mad that I had to wear glasses for 6 months of my senior year...but when I heard about PRK, I would tell people "I probably know what this will feel like...And it actually wasn't that bad." And...I was right. It's pretty similar. And it's not that bad. At least for me.
To be fair, I've been told I have a pretty high pain tolerance...which I mostly chalk up to growing up with boys.
But the point of this whole tangent is that having that horrible and traumatic experience ironically gave me confidence to go through with this surgery. Weird, right? Also, thank God that those burns in 2011 healed completely and didn't rule me out as a candidate in the first place (I was worried that it would).
Anyway I'm feeling pretty good, although screens and small words are still hard to focus on and kind of tiring. I might try reading from my iPad for a little bit with the text blown up, old-person style...but hopefully Matt gets back soon and we can just play board games.
Cue my mother calling me a lush.
My sleep was undisturbed except for two moments - the first time I was awoken by a sharp pain in my right eye. It went away and I fell back asleep. The second moment was a sharp pain in my left eye, which also went away quickly, but I decided it might be prudent to take some ibuprofen to stay ahead of any potential pain curve.
I'm past the 48 hour mark (it was actually yesterday around noon), which is supposed to be the worst part. Mornings have been the worst so far, but this morning was really not so bad.
I woke up around 11am without any pain. My right eye is still a little blurry, but not as bad as yesterday. So far today I've had breakfast, washed dishes, and listened to more of Amy Poehler.
I'm extremely bored.
It has been relaxing to lay around, but it has also been extremely boring. Matt drove down to Illinois early this morning with his mom's boyfriend, Myles, to drive back a car that Myles was purchasing and I'm so so bored. I suggested last night that maybe I should go with them and we should spend the day in Chicago, since they were headed that way anyway, but I wasn't sure how I would feel today so I ended up scrapping that plan. Right about now, I'm wishing I had said "Let's do it!" but hindsight is 20/20. And so is my normal sight! Well, almost.
I did have pretty bad dry eye yesterday, but I think it was mainly due to the contacts I'm wearing. They're extended wear and thus intended to be able to sleep in them, but they've been feeling increasingly dry.
My doctor told me that if one falls out on the floor or something to just leave it and not worry, and they also told me that I would be able to take them out on Sunday but I should put them in a contact case in case I feel the need to put them back in. So from that information, I deduced the following:
1. It's not the end of the world if the contact comes out before Sunday
2. It's ok to take the contact out and then put it back in
So, yesterday before dinner, I took the contacts out, put them in a case with some solution and let them soak for a bit, hoping it would make them feel a little less dry.
The purpose of the contact is to protect the vulnerable, recently-lasered surface of my eye from the air and all the fun things that float around in it, but also from my eyelids. The doctor said having your eyelid slide over the surface of the eye constantly after PRK can really irritate the eye and be extremely painful. The contact acts as a barrier or protector of the eye.
When I took the contacts out, it did feel a bit tender. It wasn't the worst thing in the world to blink, but I could see how it would be very irritating to blink over and over. So, I mostly sat there with my eyes closed and shook the case around a little bit, then put those suckers back in.
And it did feel a little better. A more long-term soak probably would have helped more, but I was kinda nervous.
I think it would be reeeally hard to deal with this surgery if you had never worn contacts before. Honestly, the most consistently irritating thing since the surgery has been the dryness of the contact, and at one point I think one of my eyelashes was poking at it or under it, which was a fairly common and annoying occurrence as a contact wearer. If I had never dealt with those feelings before, I would probably be freaked out. Also the doctor said for people who've never worn contacts before, they have to actually come into the office and have the doctor take the lenses out for them 5 days later. Weird.
Something else that's weird and ironic and makes me feel like things really do happen for a reason is that the little bit of pain I have experienced is actually very, very similar to pain I've felt before...in 2011 when I burnt the top and middle layer of my cornea when I misused my brother's Clear Care solution. It happened on the 4th of July and my eyes were super light sensitive and pretty painful..yet I still went to Cedar Point the next day (priorities, yo).
I also got a bunch of drops to help with the pain, and I'm pretty sure one of the drops is the same as what I'm using now (at least they were both steroid drops with pink caps). So not only do I have experience with using said drops, but I also have felt this cornea pain before, and I understand how a contact can act as a bandage. A couple months after I burnt my eye, I was back to wearing contacts because the people from the Urgent Care in Grandville has told me I could. But I was waking up with this weird pain, popping in contacts, and then the pain would feel better throughout the day. I finally went to an eye doctor in Chicago who explained the severity of the damage to my cornea and that my contact was acting like a bandage, but every time I took it out at the end of the day, it was tearing some of the healing away.
At the time I was terrified and angry and wanted to sue ClearCare and mad that I had to wear glasses for 6 months of my senior year...but when I heard about PRK, I would tell people "I probably know what this will feel like...And it actually wasn't that bad." And...I was right. It's pretty similar. And it's not that bad. At least for me.
To be fair, I've been told I have a pretty high pain tolerance...which I mostly chalk up to growing up with boys.
But the point of this whole tangent is that having that horrible and traumatic experience ironically gave me confidence to go through with this surgery. Weird, right? Also, thank God that those burns in 2011 healed completely and didn't rule me out as a candidate in the first place (I was worried that it would).
Anyway I'm feeling pretty good, although screens and small words are still hard to focus on and kind of tiring. I might try reading from my iPad for a little bit with the text blown up, old-person style...but hopefully Matt gets back soon and we can just play board games.
Friday, December 19, 2014
"It May Get Worse Before it Gets Better"
Thursday - The Day After Surgery (Day Two)
I didn't sleep very well Wednesday night. It wasn't due to pain or anything...I just couldn't stop my mind from racing, and even through I was tired and could tell the Vicodin was making me drowsy, I was just restless.
I should have used one of the two sleeping pills they gave me, but for some reason I didn't think I needed it, and by the time I realized that I wasn't going to have a good night's sleep and I should have popped a pill, it was too late (less then 6 hours before my follow-up appointment).
Despite having a restless night, I woke up around 7:30 feeling well. No real pain to speak of, besides a slight scratchiness in my left eye. Clear vision (which still astounds me), and just a little weariness.
I took a taxi to my 8:30 am follow-up appointment, and to be honest, I could have driven. In fact, my surgeon admitted to me that a lot of people do drive themselves the day after.
I read the chart and the nurse told me I was currently 20/20 in my left eye (amazing!) and 20/25 in my right eye. The surgeon told me that that's very good for the day after PRK.
You see, PRK is a surface correction - meaning they use lasers to correct the curvature of your eye, starting at the surface of your cornea, so the surface of your cornea has to heal itself, which is why it's more painful and takes longer to recover than LASIK. It's also why your vision can fluctuate and take a little while to settle down completely. They give you an extended wear soft contact lens that works as a bandage, protecting the vulnerable surface of your eye for a few days, and that was what was irritating me the most on day two - just the dryness from wearing the lens. They told me "trust me, it would be a lot worse without the lens."
Dr. McCanna also said that it was good that I wasn't experiencing a lot of pain, but warned me "It may get worse before it gets better again."
The rest of Thursday went very well. I didn't take any pain meds but didn't have any issues. I dozed very briefly in the middle of the day, but other than that I wrapped my christmas presents and spent some time listening to Serial with my eyes closed (they say the more you can rest your eyes the faster the recovery will be).
Matt came over and made me dinner, and we even watched two TV episodes (Once Upon A Time and Agents of SHIELD) and I could watch without my cool blind person sunglasses!
But, after the 2nd episode, my eyes were pretty dang tired and I told Matt "no more."
As far as light sensitivity goes, it hasn't been TOO bad..it's not that it hurts really, it's just easier to be in no light or low light or to wear sunglasses, and if I'm in the light for too long, my eyes get really tired. Screens (tv, computer, phone) are the hardest, and I imagine reading a book would be pretty difficult too, because you need to read by light and also your eyes have to focus so much.
I took a sleeping pill last night and got a glorious 12 hours of sleep/rest for my eyes.
Friday, Day Three
Dr. McCanna may as well be a psychic. Today has so far been the worst...
I woke up with an awful headache, really dry eyes, and slightly blurred vision. I pulled myself out of bed to wash my hands and put in some drops (antibiotic), went downstairs to put on the coffee pot and came back upstairs to wash my hands and put in some more drops (painkillers), laid down for a bit talking to my mom on the phone then washed my hands a third time and put in the last drops (steroids). I have three sets of drops that I have to put in 3-4 times a day and it's important to wait at least 5 minutes in between. The pharmacist also recommended doing the steroid suspension last, because it's the thickest. The drops mostly help, minimizing the pain and wetting my eyes, but the antibiotic stings like a bitch. On the bright side, it makes my eyes water, which helps.
After my morning drops me and my pounding head went back downstairs so that I could eat some breakfast and take my last vicodin as soon as humanly possible.
After that, I laid down in bed with the curtains shut, the lights off, and a towel over my eyes and listed to Amy Poehler's audiobook, "Yes, Please" for 2.5 hours or so.
I'm feeling better now; the headache is gone and my eyes are less dry. I just ate lunch and was feeling good enough to write this blog (albeit with the brightness turned way down and my Ray Charles sunglasses on), but my right eye is still blurry.
It's nothing like the blurriness I used to experience without contacts or glasses..it's very slight. But it does make it kind of difficult to focus on the words I'm typing. The good news is that my doctor said this is expected and nothing to worry about, so I just have to kind of deal with it.
Thankfully, my left eye is still very clear and I don't have to do any work, so once I'm done with this blog I'll probably go back to Amy Poehler (great audiobook so far by the way), and then might play board games with Matt when he comes over later.
Advice to Anyone Considering this Surgery
Some people who I've talked to have said things like "tell me who it goes" and "I've been thinking of getting that surgery." I also know that when I was considering it, I was scouring the internet for blogs and other firsthand accounts, so that I could get some personal advice from someone who had been through the whole seemingly terrifying experience. So this section is for any of you considering this.
So far, on day three, I have no regrets. Despite the minor blurriness in my right eye currently, the periods of totally clear vision that I've had are, at the risk of being melodramatic, a look into my long-term future. And it looks clear. So, so very clear.
If you have terrible vision like I did (-6.50 prescription, what up?) and feel hindered by it, you should consider getting LASIK or PRK if you can afford it.
The procedure itself was scary. Going under the laser and being awake for the whole thing, and knowing that I had a job in it (look at the red light) was scary. Having to sign the consent form right beforehand, which details out every possible terrible thing that could happen (losing your eye? a corneal transplant? Overcorrection?) no matter how unlikely, was terrifying.
However, as my doctor and my research explained, all of those scenarios are very, very, unlikely. And as I learned in my business law class, they have to list out every possible scenario, no matter how unlikely, just in case. Because no one wants to get sued by the one in a trillionth person.
Plan to have some soft light available, especially in your bedroom. I haven't liked having my normal light on, so I've been using a softer lamp with one or two bulbs. Also make sure you have really good blinds covering your windows.
The first day, I literally carried a candle to/from the bathroom because the bathroom light was wayyy too bright. If I did it again, I would probably buy an electric candle to carry around.
Have someone help make your meals, but also buy food that's easy to make if you need to cook for yourself. Get lots and lots of artificial tear eye drops.
Download audiobooks, bookmark podcasts, plan to have your eyes closed. But also plan to do other activities that don't require a screen, like playing cards or board games. You don't have to have your eyes shut 24/7.
I probably could have worked yesterday and today, but I took the doctor's strong recommendation to take time off and I would suggest that if you get PRK that you do, too. Especially if you work on a computer (who doesn't these days), it will be really tiring for your eyes and you'll probably end up with a wicked headache. Note that this may be different for LASIK, since the recovery is so different.
Anyway that's it for now. I'm going to shower and stare at my feet for a little while, which I'll be able to see clearly without contacts for the first time ever (well maybe just the left foot right now, the right one might be kind of blurry).
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
The World Through My New Eyes
It's currently 7:10pm. Today, I woke up at 7:30am and went to the clinic at 10:30. My surgery was at 11:30am and my boyfriend, Matt, picked me up afterwards and took me to get my prescriptions, some lunch, and then home. I slept from about 1:30pm to 5:30pm and have been listening to a podcast (Serial) with my eyes shut since then.
So that's the summary. Here are all the gory details for anyone interested or contemplating getting a surgery like this:
Pre-Op
I wasn't allowed to eat anything solid within 4 hours of my surgery, which I found out was primarily so that the Valium works better. I also wasn't allowed to wear any makeup, hairspray, or jewelry above the neck.
I checked in and paid for the procedure, and then immediately went to get all the scans of my eye redone. These are the scans they do during the evaluation to see whether or not you're a good candidate. I think they do them again right beforehand in order to make sure they set everything up as correctly as possible.
After the scans, they gave me some valium for pain and anxiety and then they talked through all the prescriptions I'd be taking.
Then they gave me a hairnet thing and had me sit in a comfortable chair outside of the operating room with my feet up, relaxing, with my eyes closed (so they don't get dry), and letting the valium kick in. They put two drops (some sort of medication) in my eyes, and one burned a little bit but it wasn't too bad.
I prayed the rosary and asked God to bring me peace and soothe my fears and asked Mary to be there with her motherly presence since my real mother is so far away. It seemed like it helped a little bit, but maybe it was just the Valium haha,
Finally, they said I was ready and took be into the room with the lasers.
Surgery
I'm not going to sugarcoat this or try to put on a brave face - even with the valium, I was pretty terrified. I had over a year of mentally preparing for this, but I mainly through about the recovery time and didn't dwell too much on what the actual procedure would be like.
I went in and laid down and they tucked a pillow around my head to keep it from moving around too much. They also handed me a Teddy Bear. I laughed and asked if there was a story behind that and they said, "No, not really, but we also have a football if you'd rather hold that instead. However, it's a Packers football, so if you're not a Packers fan, you might not want it."
I told them I'd stick with the Teddy Bear. Although if they offered me a Bears football, I'd probably have said HELL NO.
Don't need that kind of luck...
Anyway they did one eye at a time, so they put this bandage thing over my left eye but told me it's best if I can keep both eyes open. They put numbing drops in my right eye and then taped back what the surgeon called my "luxurious eyelashes." They then used this weird spring thing which would keep my eye open for the procedure.
Then they did all sorts of stuff and I'm not sure what all of it was or was for, but I'll do my best to explain it. They poured some alcohol solution over my eye for 25 seconds straight and then did some other stuff and then washed my eye out with water. All in all, it wasn't painful, mainly just kind of blurry and a little cold when they poured the water over.
Then they told me that my job was to look at the red light and that I would need to stay focused on the red light for 60 seconds while the laser was on. So that's what I did.
I was terrified of screwing up and was just praying and encouraging myself the whole time: "God please help me stay focused on the red light. The red light is my friend. I like the red light. Red is my favorite color...."
And then it was over. And they washed my eye with water again. And I could see.
Which kinda gave me extra courage to go through it again with the other eye.
All in all, it wasn't so bad. It was over pretty quick, it smelled kinda weird but it wasn't painful. Probably the scariest moment of all was while they were pouring the alcohol solution over my left eye, everything kinda went black for a second and all I could see was the inside of the bandage in my right eye. But everything cleared up and came back after a second or two.
They told me I did a great job and that 60 seconds was a pretty long procedure (I had a strong correction). I was picked up by Matt, grabbed some prescription meds and lunch and then went home and fell asleep.
At Home Recovery
I was really worried about pain, and there's still a chance that it could get worse, but so far everything is OK. I'm a little light sensitive, but I've been using a less-bright light in my room and I turned the brightness on my phone and computer down and that seems to be working OK.
I'm supposed to keep my eyes shut as much as possible to speed up healing, but I did want to write all of this out while it was still fresh.
Pain-wise, my left eye feels kind of like my right eye did when I accidentally burned it with clear care solution a couple years ago...a little painful but not unbearable. I had a headache right after the surgery but it's gone now. I've been off the Vicodin for 2 hours or so but feel ok and will probably just take another one with some food before bed.
So that's my day! Matt is patiently waiting for me to finish this post so I should probably wrap up and spend some time with him. Thanks for all the prayers and well-wishes!
So that's the summary. Here are all the gory details for anyone interested or contemplating getting a surgery like this:
Pre-Op
I wasn't allowed to eat anything solid within 4 hours of my surgery, which I found out was primarily so that the Valium works better. I also wasn't allowed to wear any makeup, hairspray, or jewelry above the neck.
I checked in and paid for the procedure, and then immediately went to get all the scans of my eye redone. These are the scans they do during the evaluation to see whether or not you're a good candidate. I think they do them again right beforehand in order to make sure they set everything up as correctly as possible.
After the scans, they gave me some valium for pain and anxiety and then they talked through all the prescriptions I'd be taking.
Then they gave me a hairnet thing and had me sit in a comfortable chair outside of the operating room with my feet up, relaxing, with my eyes closed (so they don't get dry), and letting the valium kick in. They put two drops (some sort of medication) in my eyes, and one burned a little bit but it wasn't too bad.
I prayed the rosary and asked God to bring me peace and soothe my fears and asked Mary to be there with her motherly presence since my real mother is so far away. It seemed like it helped a little bit, but maybe it was just the Valium haha,
Finally, they said I was ready and took be into the room with the lasers.
Surgery
I'm not going to sugarcoat this or try to put on a brave face - even with the valium, I was pretty terrified. I had over a year of mentally preparing for this, but I mainly through about the recovery time and didn't dwell too much on what the actual procedure would be like.
I went in and laid down and they tucked a pillow around my head to keep it from moving around too much. They also handed me a Teddy Bear. I laughed and asked if there was a story behind that and they said, "No, not really, but we also have a football if you'd rather hold that instead. However, it's a Packers football, so if you're not a Packers fan, you might not want it."
I told them I'd stick with the Teddy Bear. Although if they offered me a Bears football, I'd probably have said HELL NO.
Don't need that kind of luck...
Anyway they did one eye at a time, so they put this bandage thing over my left eye but told me it's best if I can keep both eyes open. They put numbing drops in my right eye and then taped back what the surgeon called my "luxurious eyelashes." They then used this weird spring thing which would keep my eye open for the procedure.
Then they did all sorts of stuff and I'm not sure what all of it was or was for, but I'll do my best to explain it. They poured some alcohol solution over my eye for 25 seconds straight and then did some other stuff and then washed my eye out with water. All in all, it wasn't painful, mainly just kind of blurry and a little cold when they poured the water over.
Then they told me that my job was to look at the red light and that I would need to stay focused on the red light for 60 seconds while the laser was on. So that's what I did.
I was terrified of screwing up and was just praying and encouraging myself the whole time: "God please help me stay focused on the red light. The red light is my friend. I like the red light. Red is my favorite color...."
And then it was over. And they washed my eye with water again. And I could see.
Which kinda gave me extra courage to go through it again with the other eye.
All in all, it wasn't so bad. It was over pretty quick, it smelled kinda weird but it wasn't painful. Probably the scariest moment of all was while they were pouring the alcohol solution over my left eye, everything kinda went black for a second and all I could see was the inside of the bandage in my right eye. But everything cleared up and came back after a second or two.
They told me I did a great job and that 60 seconds was a pretty long procedure (I had a strong correction). I was picked up by Matt, grabbed some prescription meds and lunch and then went home and fell asleep.
At Home Recovery
I was really worried about pain, and there's still a chance that it could get worse, but so far everything is OK. I'm a little light sensitive, but I've been using a less-bright light in my room and I turned the brightness on my phone and computer down and that seems to be working OK.
I'm supposed to keep my eyes shut as much as possible to speed up healing, but I did want to write all of this out while it was still fresh.
Pain-wise, my left eye feels kind of like my right eye did when I accidentally burned it with clear care solution a couple years ago...a little painful but not unbearable. I had a headache right after the surgery but it's gone now. I've been off the Vicodin for 2 hours or so but feel ok and will probably just take another one with some food before bed.
So that's my day! Matt is patiently waiting for me to finish this post so I should probably wrap up and spend some time with him. Thanks for all the prayers and well-wishes!
Pre-Op Reflections
For 11 years, I stumbled through life without glasses...without even knowing I needed glasses.
I wondered how my friends knew all the names of the streets in my neighborhood. I searched in vain for deer in the woods and hawks in the sky during family road trips. I awkwardly stared at my crush from the other side of the classroom. When I looked up at the night sky, I saw black. I tattled on my older brother for throwing a basketball at my head from 2 feet away and swore there was a conspiracy when all the neighbor boys backed up his story that he had been at least 10 feet away. I acquired the nickname "Calamity Jane" for always tripping over my own two feet. And I wasn't very good at softball...
In 5th grade, I finally had an eye exam and the doctor told my mom that I was a "danger to myself without glasses."
So for the next 14 years or so, I've been a functioning (albeit still clumsy) member of society with the help of contacts and glasses.
Today, in about 1.5 hours, I'll be undergoing Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) Eye Surgery. PRK is similar to LASIK in the fact that they're both laser vision correction surgeries, but the procedure and recovery time differ. In summary: LASIK is the more popular version because there is very little pain and a very short recovery time (approx 48 hours) but PRK was the original vision correction surgery and despite the chance for more pain and a longer recovery time, it has the same long-term results (perfect vision).
I can barely even imagine what it will be like to have perfect vision.
To not have to shower blind (curse you shampoo and conditioner bottles that look exactly the same).
To be able to workout and play sports without needing contacts on hand.
To be able to put my makeup on without being one inch from the mirror.
To be able to lay on my side and read a book without glasses digging into my face.
To be able to see underwater.
To not have to worry about losing or tearing a contact.
To wake up in the morning and not have to feel around for my glasses (it's the worst when they fall off my nightstand, I'm like Velma).
I'll be holding onto all of those thoughts the next few days. Like I mentioned, with PRK there is a longer and potentially more painful recovery time. I decided to try and write a blog about this because the experience of reading other people's blogs about getting PRK is what gave me the confidence to go through with it in the first place.
[In case you're wondering why I didn't go with LASIK, the results of my evaluation were that my correction was too strong and my cornea not thick enough for the LASIK procedure, so PRK was my only option.]
From talking to my surgeon, surfing the web, and reading other blogs, I've tried to mentally prepare myself for the worst case scenario. During the first 48 hours, it's possible that I'll experience both extreme pain and extreme light sensitivity. If the latter is the case, my blog posts might be very short.
On the flip side, I read one woman's blog and she was out walking in the sunshine (wearing her special sunglasses) the day of her surgery...so you never know. Everyone is different.
In preparation for the worst, I've downloaded audible to listen to Amy Poehler's audiobook and I've bookmarked pages for a bunch of podcasts recommended to me by friends. Yesterday, I went grocery shopping and bought a bunch of food to snack on and some easy dinners to make. And I'm off work for the next three days.
I've also been praying the rosary. When it comes down to it, this surgery will be like a miracle for me, and if I can't have Jesus come rub dirt and spit in my eyes (John 9:1-7), I guess "frickin lasers" are the next best thing.
To finish my pre-op reflections, I thank God for the fact that this surgery exists, that I am able to afford it, and that I am a candidate. I pray that my suffering isn't too terrible and that everything goes well. I found the below prayer online and I'm going to do my best to remember it even when sedated. Wish me luck!
Loving Father, I entrust myself to your care this day; guide with wisdom and skill the minds and hands of the medical people who minister in your Name, and grant that every cause of illness be removed, I may be restored to soundness of health and learn to live in more perfect harmony with you and with those around me. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Into your hands, I commend my body and my soul. Amen.
I wondered how my friends knew all the names of the streets in my neighborhood. I searched in vain for deer in the woods and hawks in the sky during family road trips. I awkwardly stared at my crush from the other side of the classroom. When I looked up at the night sky, I saw black. I tattled on my older brother for throwing a basketball at my head from 2 feet away and swore there was a conspiracy when all the neighbor boys backed up his story that he had been at least 10 feet away. I acquired the nickname "Calamity Jane" for always tripping over my own two feet. And I wasn't very good at softball...
In 5th grade, I finally had an eye exam and the doctor told my mom that I was a "danger to myself without glasses."
So for the next 14 years or so, I've been a functioning (albeit still clumsy) member of society with the help of contacts and glasses.
Today, in about 1.5 hours, I'll be undergoing Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) Eye Surgery. PRK is similar to LASIK in the fact that they're both laser vision correction surgeries, but the procedure and recovery time differ. In summary: LASIK is the more popular version because there is very little pain and a very short recovery time (approx 48 hours) but PRK was the original vision correction surgery and despite the chance for more pain and a longer recovery time, it has the same long-term results (perfect vision).
I can barely even imagine what it will be like to have perfect vision.
To not have to shower blind (curse you shampoo and conditioner bottles that look exactly the same).
To be able to workout and play sports without needing contacts on hand.
To be able to put my makeup on without being one inch from the mirror.
To be able to lay on my side and read a book without glasses digging into my face.
To be able to see underwater.
To not have to worry about losing or tearing a contact.
To wake up in the morning and not have to feel around for my glasses (it's the worst when they fall off my nightstand, I'm like Velma).
 |
| Seriously my life. Just ask my boyfriend. |
I'll be holding onto all of those thoughts the next few days. Like I mentioned, with PRK there is a longer and potentially more painful recovery time. I decided to try and write a blog about this because the experience of reading other people's blogs about getting PRK is what gave me the confidence to go through with it in the first place.
[In case you're wondering why I didn't go with LASIK, the results of my evaluation were that my correction was too strong and my cornea not thick enough for the LASIK procedure, so PRK was my only option.]
From talking to my surgeon, surfing the web, and reading other blogs, I've tried to mentally prepare myself for the worst case scenario. During the first 48 hours, it's possible that I'll experience both extreme pain and extreme light sensitivity. If the latter is the case, my blog posts might be very short.
On the flip side, I read one woman's blog and she was out walking in the sunshine (wearing her special sunglasses) the day of her surgery...so you never know. Everyone is different.
In preparation for the worst, I've downloaded audible to listen to Amy Poehler's audiobook and I've bookmarked pages for a bunch of podcasts recommended to me by friends. Yesterday, I went grocery shopping and bought a bunch of food to snack on and some easy dinners to make. And I'm off work for the next three days.
I've also been praying the rosary. When it comes down to it, this surgery will be like a miracle for me, and if I can't have Jesus come rub dirt and spit in my eyes (John 9:1-7), I guess "frickin lasers" are the next best thing.
 |
| I couldn't help myself |
To finish my pre-op reflections, I thank God for the fact that this surgery exists, that I am able to afford it, and that I am a candidate. I pray that my suffering isn't too terrible and that everything goes well. I found the below prayer online and I'm going to do my best to remember it even when sedated. Wish me luck!
Loving Father, I entrust myself to your care this day; guide with wisdom and skill the minds and hands of the medical people who minister in your Name, and grant that every cause of illness be removed, I may be restored to soundness of health and learn to live in more perfect harmony with you and with those around me. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Into your hands, I commend my body and my soul. Amen.
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