New Year, New Outlook

The story begins 32 years ago when I began wearing glasses when I was six years old and in the first grade.

I went through them all; the 80's kid glasses to the Sally Jessy Raphael blue frame glasses.

I wore glasses until I was 13 years old and in the 8th grade.  I was SOOO excited to transition to contacts.   

Mom and Dad weren't fired up about the idea.  My older brother had contacts and lost one.  In the 80's they were expensive and not disposable.  If one was lost, it was a major financial hit.

My Mom agreed that I could ask the eye Doctor about contacts at my annual exam.  I was shy, but I asked.  He spent the next 30 minutes fitting me for lenses and then walked out to tell my Mom that there was no reason that I wouldn't be a good candidate.  To this day, I thank him for getting me into contacts so early and easy.  How could she say no to him after he spent so much time working with me?  I like to think that he was on my side ;)

I had an astigmatism, so they were gas permeable lenses.  This means that they were often uncomfortable and I was constantly using eye drops, but I was bound and determined to make them work.  Within a month or two, it was easy peezy and worth every ounce of effort.

I went off to college and discovered that disposable lenses existed for people with a astigmatism.  Once again, I was back at the eye Doctor and changing my lens preference.  This was the best change, EVER (at that time)!

Many years later, people began having corrective eye surgery.  Being the cautious person that I am, I was skeptical and not sure if this was the route that I wanted to go.

Two years ago, I asked my eye Doctor if I would be a good candidate.  With my astigmatism and near sightedness, she said that I was a great candidate.  Not only was I a great candidate for Lasik, but PRK was an even better option.  I spent the next two years debating, researching and deciding.

Most people I know have had Lasik.  There aren't many people who have had PRK.  Recovery for Lasik was far quicker and easier than PRK, but PRK was said to have better long lasting results.   I met with doctors, I read results online, I talked with friends.  Finally, I took Keith to the Surgeon that I had decided on and together, we decided PRK was the best choice for me.  I needed Keith on board because recovery could have been anything from easy to LONG.

Almost to the day, 32 years after my first glasses and 25 years after my first contacts, I took out my contacts for the last time.

For the next two weeks I wore my glasses to allow my eyes to relax and not be influenced by the shape of my contacts.

I even wore them on a business trip to Fort Worth, TX where I dined on In-n-Out.  YUMM!!!

I wore them for working, even when I was at home one day with a sick kiddo.  He was curious as to what I was doing, so he listened in on our conference call.  I think he prefers going to school over working.

Two weeks later, I wore my glasses for the last time.

On a Thursday, Keith and I drove to the Beyer Laser Center in Boulder for the PRK surgery.  I was excited and nervous!  Our wait felt like FOREVER.  When they called me back, Keith was able to join me.  They reexamined my eyes and gave me a Valium to relax while they finished their prep.

During surgery, Keith got to watch through the viewing window.  They had my eye projected on a big screen, so he got to see everything.  He LOVED it!  For me, it was actually relaxing and not bad.  Mentally, I knew what was going on, but I also knew that I had to be very still.  The Valium helped me mentally and physically just lay there very calmly.  

The surgery was quick and easy.  17 seconds on my right eye and 13 seconds on my left eye.  Easy Peezy!

Before I knew it, I was wearing some stylish new shades and we were headed home.

We stopped at Primrose to pick up the boys.  While I waited in the car, I took a photo of my new eyes.

That evening, the numbness wore off and the light sensitivity set in.  With PRK, you eyes are dilated and you stay dilated for a while.  I spent the next 48 hours sleeping (or nearly sleeping) in the dark.  During the day, I camped out in Oliver's room.  It can be made the darkest room in the house.  At night, I gave him his bed back and I slept in my own room.  The boys and Keith were awesome.  They brought me meals and would rub my feet.  The boys would occasionally come to check on me and we would just chat.

On Saturday night, the dilation wore off and I was finally able to see the light again.

From the surgery time and for the next week, I had to put eye drops in every 5 minutes.  The next week was Thanksgiving week, so following post op was easy.  I put in my eye drops and felt great.

By the time a week came up, the contact bandage that they had put on my eye was feeling cruddy and blurry.  I couldn't wait to get it off.  On Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving), I went in for my second post-op exam.  The eye Doctor removed my contact bandage and she said everything looked great.

I was told that my vision could be blurry for a few weeks or a few months.  I didn't know to what extend I would be or what exactly I could see.  The reason for the blurriness is that for PRK, the lasering is done on the top of your eye.  For Lasik, they pull back the flap on your eye, correct your eyes then replace the flap.  The blurriness comes from the healing tissue on the top of your eye.  For Lasik, you don't see the healing because the flap is healing to the side.

On Thanksgiving day, my vision seemed great.  I could see with no problem.   I was SO relieved, but I kept waiting for the healing blurriness.

When I went in for my two week post-op, my vision was measuring at 20/15, which is exactly how I saw with contacts and what the surgeon was aiming for.  I asked the eye Doctor when the healing blurriness would occur and she said that it already had.  I had healed up and I never noticed.

I just went in for my eight week post-op and my vision is holding at 20/15 and the eye Doctor said that by looking at my eyes in the microscope, you can't even tell that I had PRK.

I couldn't be happier with the results!!!  The only reason I can tell that I had PRK is that my eyes are a bit dry in the mornings.  This comes with winter in Colorado and a bit of the adjustment that my eyes are making.  This too shall pass.

Considering how much skepticism and uncertainty I've had with PRK, the results far exceed my expectation!  I'm so glad that Keith, my eye Doctor and the Surgeon encouraged me to pursue PRK.  With all of the vision decisions that I've had to make, this was is by far the best, EVER!!!