Lasik Surgery: Wading Through The Haziness

Yesterday this girl underwent Lasik Surgery. Early on in the day, while waiting amongst maybe thirty other candidates for the same surgery that day, I went through a small bout of fright when another patient and I were ushered into the laser suite to have photos of our eyes taken by a very high-tech looking machine.

It just so happened that there was a lady currently getting surgery as we waited for our turn, and what was going on was being projected onto a large computer screen, so we could see a gigantic version of the eye and what the operation actually looked like from the surgeon’s point of view: a complete terror to myself and the other patient, as we gave each other frightful glances and unsure shrugs.

Perhaps it is just was well that I had to go through several hours of waiting after that, in order for the fear to abate, and a little impatience to kick in. Some time prior to my turn in the “laser suite,” some nurses began to apply eye drops that would cause my pupils to dilate. After awhile, as I had been warned, my vision began to blur, and I found that even if I tried to focus on my pupils to see just how dilated they were in the mirror, I couldn’t focus my eyes on anything! It was such a trip!!! Soon, once enough of these dilating eye drops had been administered, a mild anesthetic topical solution was also applied to my eyes. This was also a strange sensation, as my eyes, beginning to feel numb, began to feel as if they didn’t belong under my eyelids, like thick contact lenses or something to that effect. Highly recommended for those who enjoy mind-altering substances … in this case, it will be sensation-altering.

The most frightful of all was the actual surgery, which, as they had promised, would not be painful at all, only mildly discomforting. But just the thought that your eyelids have been plastered to stay open, even in the face of bright lights, and to experience a suctioning and know that they are cutting open one cornea and then another, well, that is a really frightful thing and will turn anybody’s hands and knees into a puddle of Jello.

If you saw Mel Gibson in the film Conspiracy Theory, you will have an idea as to how a patient might look like while under the mercy of her surgeon and laser beam. As for the patient, well, your main instruction and task throughout the (thankfully) short procedure is to look at the little red light. It will cause you some alarm when during a time a little ring is used to hold down your eye, you will lose just about all vision in the eye that is being operated on, thank goodness the doctor kindly warns you in a soothing voice that you will lose the red light for a short period, and then it’s back. And now, what with your bad vision and all, you still have a particular sense of how clear the red light is to you. Suddenly, with all the rubbing and suctioning and who knows what else kind of slicing going on, your little red light becomes two (when you know there is really only one), and soon after, all the lights become a far more intense blur, as if a veil were placed over your eyes. If I understand correctly, this is the time when the corneal flap is lifted in order for the laser process to begin.

I think I must have been moaning in weakness once my eyes had been bandaged and I was seated in the low lit and cool recovery room, trying to shrink away from the pain my eyes were causing me, but of course, not succeeding because they are my eyes.

All that followed were lots and lots of tears, brief attempts to open my eyes to see where I was going, and sleep, sleep, lots of it, with interruptions made for anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory eye drops to be administered every now and then.

It was not until waking this morning that I just had to amaze at the new world my surgery had given me: never in all my life had my vision been as clear (unaided by contact lenses or eyeglasses) since I was eight years old maybe. It is life-changing. And if yesterday I was wondering why on earth I went through something so risqué when all I could feel was pain; today I realize why so many people get it done. It is a completely different world for someone who has had to live with bad vision to be able to wake up and see everything perfectly. I cannot stress enough how life-changing Lasik surgery can be, but for someone who has had bad vision more than half her life, I am just astounded by the new lease on vision my eyes have been given, what a gift that God gave man the ability to hone science into something that will give old eyes a second chance. My new vision amazes and astounds me!

A tale of temporary alliances and the beauty of the islands.

What a fine way to stumble into the day. I feel many bouts of wishing my sister were with me today, as we coast off towards the famed Balicasag Island, but I keep reminding myself that it was my choice to go off alone, so I suppose I must open myself up to the beauty that solitude can bring you.

All these temporary alliances keep being formed. For example, today, it is with Mang Junie, who I have commissioned to be my boatman for the day, as I swim with the amazingly beautiful fish off Balicasag. It took us forty-five minutes to get from Panglao Island to here, and on the way our boat caught sight of two other smaller islands: Puntod and Virgin Islands. Astounding.

My phone is picking up no signal here, it is as if Nature herself insists that I simply enjoy the island for what she is, without the minor stresses like wondering who will greet me for my birthday.