Matt and my parents came with me to Royal Oak Beaumont at 7:15AM. It was the hospital where my siblings and I were born, and everyone else and their mother from the metro-Detroit area as well! The hospital is spread out with a lot of buildings and I asked my dad where I was born and he pointed to the exact building and said "Third floor." I thought that was so cute.
Anyways, we had our own little waiting room and before the surgery I was given Valium. Yep, valium. I was super nervous and the nurse said that the valium would only make me feel less jumpy and once the surgery was done and my nerves were lessened, I'd really feel the valium kick in and make me loopy. I had to put my hair back and under a blue scrub hairnet. I was taken to the surgical room, which looked like a dentist's chair with tons of equipment around it. They put a ton of different medicine drops in my eye to numb, water, etc. My top and bottom lashes were taped back and a wrench utensil of sorts was put under my lids to hold them open. I bet it looked painful, but I didn't feel a thing. Then a circular suction was set on the whites of my eyes, around my retina. The doctor explained everything before it happened so I wasn't surprised. He said the suction would make me see black for 20 seconds even though my eyes were open.
After I could see again, I had to focus on the red dot above me and not take my gaze off of it. He made a flap in my cornea (The outer layer of my eye). The red dot was blurry, but I could still see it.
He held my head and had to lock the LASIK machine on my eye. Then the laser went off. It sounded like a bebe gun firing at my eye. I couldn't feel it, but I smelled burnt something.
The flap was replaced. And a second later, the wrench was taken out. The most painful part was probably him ripping the tape off my lashes/eyebrows. The same process was done to my left eye. My dad said I was gone for about 15 minutes. It seemed a lot longer, but I guess the actual laser part was like a few seconds in each eye. And the nurse was right, I was really loopy after the surgery when I felt calm again.
(The images were taken from http://www.lasersite.com/lasik/index.htm which has more pictures and information on the technical aspects of the surgery)
The doctor said that contact-lens wearers have the easiest time during the surgery since we've trained ourselves to look off into space without blinking. That's so true. I can put drops in my eyes and not blink even after the drop is in my eye. I wasn't like that before contacts. For a few days my eyes got tired and I had to rest them every so often. It's amazing how even eye muscles can get sore! When Matt and I went to the mall, just scanning for a shirt or a size, made my eyes tired and I had to remember to move my head with my eyes so I wouldn't have to roll my eyes as much. Yesterday, (Sunday), I was ready to drive and watch a movie. We went to see DaVinci Code, which I will talk about later since this entry is now a novel! By habit, I always feel I need to take off my contacts at night, or I'll try to grab my glasses from my bedstand in the morning. It really hasn't hit me yet, but it's nice not having to worry about contacts/glasses. I got a check up today, and I have 20/15 vision now, which is better than 20/20. I have to put antibiotic drops and anti-inflammatory drops in my eyes for a week, but with LASEK, drops are needed for a couple months! The details above may scare a few squeamish people, but it was really very easy! I am happy with the results and I recommend this surgery to anyone who needs it.
My doctor was highly recommended to me by my sister's friend (who is a doctor) and her mom (who is also a doctor). They both had it done. The package includes all the medicines, after surgery eyewear, evaluations, the actual surgery, and follow up appts for a year. I also like how it's not an eye center that advertises on TV with discounts. This is through the hospital, which makes me believe the doctors are more respected and qualified.
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