An Account of a Young Homemaker: April 2009

I am sitting here typing wearing oversized sunglasses with Artificial Tears in my eyes. I had laser eye surgery done today and my eyes are still a bit irritated, but it was completely worth it! It is great to be able to see the TV (or dirt on the floor) without the use of my glasses. Sadly, I paid more than all of my relatives who had similar procedures done because I needed to get this done before going on a Euro-trip.

The whole process occurs in about one minute- with the usual hour of bureaucracy beforehand. They give you a Valium (which did jack shit) to relax you and to help you sleep afterwards. They also put cocaine drops in your eyes to numb them. Basically you recline in a chair and this vacuum attaches to your eye while the laser does its job. The worst part is the smell of your retina burning. The surgery is done before you know it and the staff is shuffling you out the door.

I was able to see rather well immediately after getting LASIK with little discomfort. After a few minutes, however, the cocaine begins to wear off and the eyes start to feel light sensitive and irritated. I took a 3 hour nap and felt well enough to go about the housework at home.

I was originally scheduled to get the LASEK/PRK surgery, which is more painful and has a longer recovery time. PRK is where the entire surface of the eye is lasered down, instead of simply cutting through the eye. If undergoing PRK, you will get a contact of sorts to protect the cornea and stimulate regrowth. PRK patients will have blurry watery vision for about a week. It is recommending for people with asymmetrical eye structures who are at risk for collapse. Luckily, the staff re-checked my vision before surgery and were confident that I could undergo the traditional (and much easier) Lasik.

It has only been about 10 hours and my eyes are almost 20/20. They should be even better in the morning. Laser eye surgery is a quick outpatient procedure with few risks and a fast recovery time. I cannot recommend it highly enough.