The Troubles With my Eyes
This year marks 31 years that I’ve been wearing glasses. Now I know that for some, that isn’t long, but for me, that is 1/4 of my life.
When I was little, I thought that people who wore glasses looked so impressive, and they had to have been super special if they got to wear them. I mean, these people were so cool looking, I wanted to be just like them. Well, they say, be careful of what you wish for, because not too long after, guess what, I also needed glasses.
I was 10 years old and in Grade 5. I was a full year in at a new school and was doing quite well, and making matters even better (or so I thought at the time), I was going to get glasses. I would look different, be unique. I was going to pick the coolest pair of glasses so that all the kids in my class would be jealous and love them! They were lavender coloured plastic, semi-transparent frames, and they were awesome! Little did I know that this was going to be a long and expensive journey… Just for the ability to see.
As I entered Junior High and High School, my prescription began to increase, and I realized that maybe wearing glasses wasn’t so fun. There were always contact lenses to help relieve that nuisance. But contacts were costly, and money was something we didn’t have a lot of. Not to say that my mom wouldn’t do what she could to help relieve me of having to wear glasses. She would’ve done anything to help. She would always comment on how great I looked when I was able to go without them, it always gave me an extra boost of confidence. I liked it.
Getting into adulthood, wearing contact lenses became more difficult. My prescription was getting worse, and I had a difficult time finding lenses that would fit comfortably without shifting from their weight. Plus, now I had to pay for my own glasses, and let me tell you, replacing those things almost every year, is very costly. (sorry Mom) It is a crime that we should have to pay so much money for the ability to see. This makes it more like a luxury than a need. Anyhow, I won’t get started on that, I could go all day with arguments on that subject.
It was in about 2003 when I first looked into Lasik surgery. I found a place in Winnipeg that did the procedures, and I booked an appointment for a consultation. Eric and I went in and met with the consultants. We asked them our questions, and they performed the exams. They had declared that I was a suitable candidate for the procedure. But it was going to cost a lot of money. And money we didn’t have, as we were a young couple, just starting out, with two little kids. How does one come up with that kind of money for an elective procedure? It was going to have to wait.
It wasn’t until 2014 when I decided to try again. Lasik had become more frequent and appeared to be more affordable. Maybe I’d be able to do it now. This time I booked an appointment at the Lasik MD center in Winnipeg. The staff was super friendly. They walked me through the tests and asked me some questions. I had previously been told that I had an eye condition, which caused some scarring in my one eye, I thought I’d better mention it. They were going to see it anyway. Well, it turns out that having this medical condition, and certain spots in certain areas of the eye, made me unqualified for the procedure. Ugh! That totally sucks!!! Well, at least now I know, and as they say, “knowing is half of the battle.”
This year, Sasha bought herself a birthday gift and elected to have the procedure done. I was so excited for her, and a tiny bit (maybe a lot bit) envious. Her procedure had gone so well and was very quick. She explained to me what they had done, and it sounded so great. Man, I wish I could have this done, it would be fabulous not to wear glasses anymore.
This got me doing some research on my presumed medical condition. I’ve never been formally tested and never asked to be. There are so many people who actually have this particular condition and live with it, without even knowing that they have it, let alone have it cause any issues for them. Well, as it turns out, many contributing factors make it doubtful that I actually have the condition.
I decided it was time to get a second opinion, and this time, actually request speaking to the surgeon.
The Consultation Process
I booked another appointment at Lasik MD and filled out the forms. The process right now is slightly different due to COVID-19, but I was able to go in for an actual consultation. It turns out that the technician that I dealt with was the same gentleman that I’d dealt with six years ago. We talked about the past issues and concerns, and I told him about the research that I’d done. I expressed that I would like to speak with the surgeon personally if there is any concern about the condition.
He proceeded to do the tests as if I were a new patient and had never been there before. That way, there wouldn’t be any prejudice against the criteria. He completed the testing and discussed the procedure that he thought would be best for me. He then suggested that they were going to send my file to the head of surgery to get his opinion on it. (That sounded good to me.) We booked an appointment for his next available date. I would possibly be having Lasik surgery, something I’d wanted for a very long time.
On the day before the appointment, I got a call from the clinic, Dr. Rocha, the head surgeon, wanted to meet me before he would agree to do my surgery. They were going to change my procedure appointment to another consult. I figured that was okay though, he was being cautious of the possible conditions. That was a very good sign to me.
When I got to the clinic for my consult with the surgeon, I met with a different technician. They performed some other tests, and then between procedures, I got in to see Dr. Rocha. He asks me some questions, I explained my situation, how it all transpired, including the most recent research that I’d done. He replied that it was good to see that I’d done some research. He figured it was likely that I was correct and presumably did not have that particular condition. He wanted to perform a couple of more tests and then check again with my pupils dilatated.
After all of the tests were complete, Dr. Rocha said he felt confident with the results. If I wanted to proceed, he’d be happy to perform the surgery for me. YES!!! I was going to have my eyes corrected!!!
As it turned out, there was a cancellation for the next day, and I got booked in for then. WOW! That never happens!
The Procedure
We were up early the next morning and off to the city. Eric brought Rachel with him, and they spent the morning at the Forks, while I was at the clinic having last-minute tests performed before my procedure.
They said I should prepare to be there for about three hours, I was there just shy of that. It was amazing! I arrived for my appointment at 8:15. I got checked in, met with one of the techs to re-verify everything before the procedure. A little while later, I met with her again, to go over the procedure process, prescription info, and the post-op activity schedule. After that, I took care of the payment process, booked my next day appointment, confirmed prescription fill location, and obtained the supplies that were provided at the clinic. Then I waited for my turn to be called to the O.R.
You know, when you think about it, during a busy process such as this, three hours is not that long. It was my turn to go to the O.R. area. I went down and got prepped, put on surgical booties and hair cover, and talked to this wonderful staff member about what would happen right after. I also contacted Eric & Rachel, got them to pick up my prescription from the pharmacy, and to head to the truck, I’d be done in about 1/2 hour.
When they called me in, I put my stuff on a chair off to the side, and the doctor escorted me to the bed where the procedure would take place. He explained that there were two machines to do the job and how each worked. I laid down, the assistant put a prop under my knees and gave me two tension balls to hold on to, which kept my hands distracted. The doctor prepared my first eye, used the machine to create the flap, covered and protected it, then proceeded on the second eye. Then the bed began to move on a track to the second machine, which performed the remainder of the procedure. He then placed the flaps back into position and had me close my eyes for a few minutes. I got up, then he used the viewing machine to check and make sure both eyes looked good. The doctor then reassured me that if I had any issues at all, to call the clinic. If I had any other concerns possibly about the other matters, to contact him as he worked out of another clinic as well. He did a fantastic job, I was able to see again!!! You know, I was in that O.R. for less than 15 minutes in total.
I was then escorted to a chair in the hall, where I called Eric to let him know that I was coming down. The assistant who was with me made sure I was okay to go and then re-confirmed my appointment for the next day. Off I went, my procedure was complete.
Post Procedure
Now came the painful part… I had to put drops in my eyes every hour that I was awake until bedtime. After that, two sets of drops, four times per day, plus lubricating drops as needed. They also gave me a tiny container of freezing drops to use if required. Now I know that every eye is different, but here is my suggestion for you. If you feel like you are going to need to take the freezing drops at the beginning, do it! I held off in case the pain got worse throughout the day. Totally stupid, I had it, I should’ve used it. The pain for me was the worst for the first three hours after leaving the hospital. Especially when it was time to take the drops.
They recommend sleeping and resting your eyes as much as possible for the rest of the day. I’d also learned from Sasha’s experience to have something dark to cover my head for extra shielding from the light. So my ride home was in the back seat of the truck, leaned over, trying my best to sleep.
Once we got home, I hid in our dark bedroom for the rest of the day. This is one of the very few times I was happy that my bedroom is dark. We were back before 1:30 pm, and I was out like a light before 2. I set the alarm to get up and did my drops every hour, even though I didn’t have to if I was sleeping. I wanted my eyes to get the best opportunity to heal.
By suppertime, I was ready to get up and stretch my legs. So I joined Eric and Rachel for supper but didn’t stay long, as my eyes grew tired quickly. I was up on and off all night, but for the most part, felt quite well.
We were awake bright and early for my follow up the next day. I met with the technician, she checked my eyes. I had better than 20/20 vision, Yay!!! She advised that they would be blurry on and off for a few days, but I would slowly notice improvements. All in all, it looked like a success.
It has been just over a week, and I am feeling great! I still have some restrictions, but most of the activities I do will be cleared up before the end of the month. I’ve had to limit screen time and sunlight for a few days, but that is okay and totally worth it. Especially if it means that I will be able to see distance without glasses.
There is one thing that was affected by this, and that was the fact that I had pretty sharp up-close vision. Well, being that I’m presently in the 4-0’s, I will now require reading glasses. I was headed in that direction before surgery, but it wasn’t bad enough to need them yet. I sacrificed that so I could see distance. So far, it has been worth it.
I can’t tell you how nice it was to wake up for the first time and see without glasses. I am in awe at the fact that I can roll over in bed and clearly see my husband’s handsome face. I had a difficult time seeing things clearly even a foot in front of me without my glasses, now, I look across the street and can see the name on the house. It is so awesome!
With all of my heart, THANK YOU!
To the people that helped with this, you know who you are. Words cannot express the thanks I have for you helping me regain my vision. I have been given a second chance, and I will do everything I can to protect my eyes this time around.
