I guess it is time to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. I hadn't said anything to anyone because of how freaked out I was leading up to the surgery... but I finally got me some new eyeballs! Paul and I have been discussing (and saving) for lasik surgery for a long time now. I finally have an eye doctor, Dr. Matsuda, who I trust and like; she is thorough and explains the pros and cons of everything.
She sent me to an eye-surgery specialist, Dr. Maloney. Believe it or not, he actually was the person who did the surgery on my eyes and he even saw me at my follow-up visit. I might have known I was going to the best surgeon because he is ranked in the top 10 by some Optometry board, but I definitely knew I was going to the best when I saw that people who could go anywhere went to him too- Nicole Kidman, Denise Richards, Drew Carey, and the list goes on.
The whole process is not on my list of things to ever do again, but it really wasn't bad at all. First my doctor had me come in for 3 visits and bunches of tests, then when I went to Dr. Maloney's office, his assistant, Gabby did another series of tests. One of the tests included holding up her fingers to see how nearsided I was. She did this a number of times from different distances, then left the room to get something. As soon as she left the room, Paul busted out laughing. I had gotten nearly all of them wrong; I couldn't believe it!
I want to take a moment to explain the whole procedure, but those who are prone to sensitivities hearing about that kind on thing, should skip this paragraph...
I was given a Valium to relax, but it really didn't work. Paul was allowed to come into the operating room with me, which was really great for me. Paul held my hand during the whole procedure. They have you lay down, then they strap your head in. Next, they numb your eyes numerous times so you cannot feel anything on your eyeball. Then they put a big suction cup on your eye to keep it from moving, and it presses down so hard on the optic nerve that you lose sight in that eye (it looks like a big grey and red doted blur). That is when the first laser machine was used to make a flap on the cornea. After doing that with both eyes, the doctor removes the suction cup and he pulls the flap off with a metal wire. You can see this happening, and I jumped a bit when he did not pull it lose on the first tug.
After the corneal flap is opened (it is still attached, just flipped "open"), the second laser cuts your eye to the specifications set by all the previous vision testing. I was told to look at the blinking red light. Because your eye is not secured in place, the laser has a pupil tracking device. I tried to hold as still as possible anyway. As soon as the laser starts to pulse you can hear the machine working and you can immediately start to see results. The blurry red light gets clearer- it was amazing. Not until he sealed the corneal flap back onto my eyeball and asked me to look at the clock did I realize how quickly I would see results. I could read the clock on the wall without glasses on! (Although I did have a slight panicky moment when he asked... I was stressed from the procedure, drugged, AND it was an analog clock. I had a flashback to learning to read clocks in second grade and for a moment, I thought I might fail ;-) )
The ride home was the worst part of the procedure (except for paying for it). My eyes were in so much pain, I wanted to rip them out. No one else I know who has had this surgery has had this problem, so it might have been a function of how bad my eyesight was. I took the Ambien when I got home, but it took a while to take effect. Eventually I fell asleep and after 8 hours, I awoke with no pain at all. I had to wear some space age goggles for the first few nights, diligently put antibiotics and anti-inflammatories into my eyes, and not touch them, but now they are perfectly normal. The first few days I couldn't drive at night because of the halos, but they went away as the swelling decreased.
The results are amazing- I was once legally blind. I could only see things across the room that were large enough that the average person could see them from over 400 feet away (like the wall- anything smaller I was sure to trip over.) Now, I wake up and can see the wall, the furniture, and I can read the alarm clock (I am not sure that has a large advantage since it always tells me how late I am, but at least I can see it!)
Jacob told me it would change my life, but I am not sure I understood what he meant until now. I catch myself every so often just looking up disbelievingly and saying out loud, "I can see!"
She sent me to an eye-surgery specialist, Dr. Maloney. Believe it or not, he actually was the person who did the surgery on my eyes and he even saw me at my follow-up visit. I might have known I was going to the best surgeon because he is ranked in the top 10 by some Optometry board, but I definitely knew I was going to the best when I saw that people who could go anywhere went to him too- Nicole Kidman, Denise Richards, Drew Carey, and the list goes on.
The whole process is not on my list of things to ever do again, but it really wasn't bad at all. First my doctor had me come in for 3 visits and bunches of tests, then when I went to Dr. Maloney's office, his assistant, Gabby did another series of tests. One of the tests included holding up her fingers to see how nearsided I was. She did this a number of times from different distances, then left the room to get something. As soon as she left the room, Paul busted out laughing. I had gotten nearly all of them wrong; I couldn't believe it!
I want to take a moment to explain the whole procedure, but those who are prone to sensitivities hearing about that kind on thing, should skip this paragraph...
I was given a Valium to relax, but it really didn't work. Paul was allowed to come into the operating room with me, which was really great for me. Paul held my hand during the whole procedure. They have you lay down, then they strap your head in. Next, they numb your eyes numerous times so you cannot feel anything on your eyeball. Then they put a big suction cup on your eye to keep it from moving, and it presses down so hard on the optic nerve that you lose sight in that eye (it looks like a big grey and red doted blur). That is when the first laser machine was used to make a flap on the cornea. After doing that with both eyes, the doctor removes the suction cup and he pulls the flap off with a metal wire. You can see this happening, and I jumped a bit when he did not pull it lose on the first tug.
After the corneal flap is opened (it is still attached, just flipped "open"), the second laser cuts your eye to the specifications set by all the previous vision testing. I was told to look at the blinking red light. Because your eye is not secured in place, the laser has a pupil tracking device. I tried to hold as still as possible anyway. As soon as the laser starts to pulse you can hear the machine working and you can immediately start to see results. The blurry red light gets clearer- it was amazing. Not until he sealed the corneal flap back onto my eyeball and asked me to look at the clock did I realize how quickly I would see results. I could read the clock on the wall without glasses on! (Although I did have a slight panicky moment when he asked... I was stressed from the procedure, drugged, AND it was an analog clock. I had a flashback to learning to read clocks in second grade and for a moment, I thought I might fail ;-) )
The ride home was the worst part of the procedure (except for paying for it). My eyes were in so much pain, I wanted to rip them out. No one else I know who has had this surgery has had this problem, so it might have been a function of how bad my eyesight was. I took the Ambien when I got home, but it took a while to take effect. Eventually I fell asleep and after 8 hours, I awoke with no pain at all. I had to wear some space age goggles for the first few nights, diligently put antibiotics and anti-inflammatories into my eyes, and not touch them, but now they are perfectly normal. The first few days I couldn't drive at night because of the halos, but they went away as the swelling decreased.
The results are amazing- I was once legally blind. I could only see things across the room that were large enough that the average person could see them from over 400 feet away (like the wall- anything smaller I was sure to trip over.) Now, I wake up and can see the wall, the furniture, and I can read the alarm clock (I am not sure that has a large advantage since it always tells me how late I am, but at least I can see it!)
Jacob told me it would change my life, but I am not sure I understood what he meant until now. I catch myself every so often just looking up disbelievingly and saying out loud, "I can see!"
2 Comments:
So this explains why you keep looking at me and saying "Who are you and what did you do with my husband?"
-- Paul
Interesting.......I am a clocks manufacturer supplier and looking for partners globally. If any one interest please contact me through this website.
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