I Can See Clearly Now, the Glasses are Gone...

I can see all obstacles in my waaaayyy....

Ok, as you can probably tell from the title of this post, things are great from my surgery! I had it on Friday afternoon, and here we are about 72 hours later, and things are going just fine.

Here's the run down: I went in on Friday afternoon to have my surgery. They took me from the front lobby to a back waiting area where they read me all my rights made me sign a million forms saying I wouldn't sue if it didn't turn out, here are the risks, blah, blah, blah. Then, I waited and could hear all that was going on in the surgery room. Click click click. I was actually not too nervous until the Dr. called me back to double check that my prescription was written down right and double check everything else. I must have appeared nervous because he gave me a valium to calm me down.

Then I went back to the waiting room while he did another patient's procedure. After about ten minutes it was my turn. That is when I started getting nervous. The valium apparently had not kicked in yet! They gave me this stuffed whale, to hold on to, which I promptly squeezed the life out of. They put in some numbing drops and hoisted me around to the machine. While they were getting all the stuff set up in the machine, the drops kicked in. I couldn't feel myself blink. Whew! Next, they taped one eye closed and the first eye they taped my lashes back. More drops of some sort. Then some sort of device was placed on my eye to prevent me from blinking. Then another machine which had some pressure to it. I felt like my eye was bulging out, not painful at all, just strange. Then, they turn on the maching that cuts a flap in the cornea. I could hear the blad whirring and could see it pass across my eye. After the flap is created (again, didn't feel a thing), the Dr. pulls the flap away from my eye and it is even blurrier. I then stare at a light for 30 seconds or so. This was a bit strange because what they are doing is burning away some of the cornea with the lazer, and so you can start to smell the burning. Then, back goes the flap, and they paint it with something, which was funny becauase you can see the brush going back and forth across your eyes, but can't feel a thing. Then, repeat with other eye. The second eye was probably harder than the first because I knew EXACTLY what was going to happen, so I was a little more nervous with the second eye. Plus, my second eye was a little worse than the first, and so I had to stare at the lazer for about ten seconds longer than the first.

Then, they take you to a thing where the Dr. looks into your eye to make sure everything is in place, and they send you home.

About halfway home the numbing drops started to wear off, and I was tearing up like no one's business. It also was starting to burn a little. Not horrible burning like someone help me now, just irritating kind of burning. Luckily, the valium finally kicked in and all I wanted to do was sleep, so I took an hour and a half nap. I woke up and knew immediately that the surgery was a success. It was blurry, but not the kind of blurry it had been, it was more blurry like something was clouding my eye. And, even that came and went. I went to bed that night and woke up the next morning even better. Blurriness still coming and going, but overall, VERY clear. I could see the TV, I could drive, I could do all sorts of stuff with no help!! Woo hoo! My eyes were still irritated, like something was in them, but overall, great! I had a one-day follow up with the Dr. and my vision after just one day is 20-20. I might even get better as I heal more and more.

I will say this. After just a couple of days I am still obviously in the healing stages. When driving at night, there are halos around the lights. I am told this is normal, and goes away within a few months after the surgery. It is not something that would prevent me from driving, it is just annoying to have the traffic lights look fuzzy, or people's brake lights fuzzy. It also throws my depth perception off a bit. And so, driving at night for a while will take a little more concentration from me. Again, this is pretty normal and for almost all patients goes away within a few months. I would also say that my eyes are a little more dry than normal. I am putting lubricating drops in every hour or so. Again, this is normal and goes away within a month or so. The last thing I would say is that reading or working on the computer (like now) is a bit blurry. The Dr. says that your eye muscles have not been used to having to work like they are now. It is like walking with crutches your whole life and then having them taken away in a day. My eye muscles will have to learn to work without the aid of anything else. I can see up close, it is just not quite as clear as it was before the surgery.

I will try to post more information as I recover more from the surgery. It is, I would say, something at 72 hours in (which is still VERY early in the recovery process) something I would do in a heartbeat, even if the fuzzy lights and dry eyes never go away! It is so worth it. I can see, I can see, I can see! I did a little "Halelujah" dance while throwing away my contacts on Sunday, and gave away my glasses cleaner to a friend. It seriously, is something that has been such a good decision even so early on. I LOVE it!!
Erin