I can’t say I didn’t completely know what I was getting into, because everyone warns you that it can take up to 2 months before you have 20/20 vision from PRK vision correction. However, I figured I’d be one of those people who wakes up on day 5 with 20/20, and never loses it after that. Silly, but of course the favorite phrase among those who’ve had this surgery is… hindsight is 20/20

So today I had another follow-up visit with the eye doctor. I was able to vent a little bit of my frustration at not seeing that well yet. Prior to surgery, they tell you that you will be able to “function well” about 7-10 days post-op. Unfortunately, I think their definition of “functioning well” doesn’t include computer use, because that’s where I am *seeing* big problems.

I can take care of my kids, clean my house, cook meals, do laundry, and so on, without any problems. I can even fumble my way through the grocery store (although I’m certain I’m missing some of the good sales!) But when I attempt to work on the computer, things are very blurry. I’ve increased my default font sizes to around 18 points in both my email and web browser. (Sorry if you’re all receiving emails from me with HUGE font sizes!) I turned on the “vision impaired” services for my Mac, which allows me to run a magnifying lens or sorts across my screen at will. That’s really nice for the small details in some of the designs I’m working on, as well as for those applications that don’t allow me to increase the default font size.

Today the doctor told me I’m 20/30 in my left eye (which is great) and 20/70 in my right eye (not so great). Because my right eye is dominant, it’s really causing my brain some frustration while trying to interpret what I’m seeing, particularly when the light is behind the image (as it is on all computer screens). Ironically, it’s easier to read text on paper right now!

So everyone keeps asking if I regret the surgery. That’s tough. I don’t regret having the surgery, but I regret the timing. I think if I had known I might not see at least 20/40 in both eyes for up to a month post-op, I would have tried to find a better time of the year (maybe when the kids are out of school and I’m not working as much anyway, or over the Christmas holidays…). In any case, I can’t turn back now, but continue my eye drop regime and triple-dosing on Vitamin C. There will continue to be good days and not-so-good days, but… One of these days I really *will* wake up to 20/20 vision. That is certain. Unfortunately, how many days will have passed is anyone’s guess.

After my PRK surgery, I came home at immediately crashed into bed (but not before taping those hideous eye shields into place). About 2 hours later, I woke to the sound of my husband and daughter looking for her soccer cleats and shin guards (they really can’t live without mommy, can they?). But when I opened my eyes, I was greeted with intense pain, particularly in my left eye.

If you’ve ever worn contacts, you know how it feels to have a contact bug you. Now multiply that times 10, and you’ll have an idea as to how I felt. I wanted to rip the contact (bandage) out. I literally could not stop crying – the tears were involuntary, as if my eye was rejecting the damage it had just encountered. (That would be the burning smell I mentioned in the previous post.)

I put in my first set of three drops (steroid drop, antibiotic drop, and painkiller drop, each given 5 minutes apart), but that didn’t help. I took more tylenol and advil, but nothing helped. Finally, at 8:30pm, I called the doctor on call and was told, “you had PRK, that’s painful.” Thanks.

Somehow I made it to 10pm, when I had to put in another set of drops. Then I did my best attempt at sleeping until 7:45am, when my mom came to drive me to my 8:00am follow-up appointment.

I kept my eyes closed the whole ride to the office, with tears continuing to involuntarily stream down my face. The doctor decided to replace the contact bandage in my left eye. In order to do that, they gave me a much stronger numbing eye drop and all was well. They asked me to come back again the next day (Friday) even though they don’t normally see patients again until Saturday.

Back at home, I was able to listen to a little TV, but mostly just rested. I kept myself pumped full of Tylenol PM and Advil, as I tried to sleep. The pain was pretty bad, and I was scared by that because they kept telling me Friday and Saturday would be the worst pain days.

By the time I woke up Friday morning, I actually felt a little better. BUT, I still worried that the pain would come back or get worse. At my 10:40am appointment, I received fabulous news: I had started to heal much more quickly than the average patient, and the “holes” in my cornea were already 80% healed. In other words, the worst was OVER! AMEN! I was beyond thrilled as I walked out of that office.

So for me, the worst days were actually Wednesday night and Thursday. But once I crossed that 80% mark, I really felt no pain at all. By Saturday morning, I felt good enough to go to my daughters’ soccer games before my doctor’s appointment. I wore a hat and dark sunglasses because I was still really sensitive to the UV light. I couldn’t tell which kid was mine in some cases, but hey, I made it!

Sunday, I felt good enough to drive. On Saturday I was able to read the 20/40 line when using both eyes together. It’s not crystal clear, but apparently it was good enough for me to drive.

On Monday I had my 5-day post op appointment, and the contact bandages were removed. Although it felt great to have them out (they had gotten pretty dry), for some reason my vision was worse on Monday. My trip to the grocery store involved me getting really close to all the labels to read prices. I decided to cut my errands short and head home.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was better, and today is a little better still. My left eye is pretty close to 20/20, while my right eye straggles at a double-vision 20/40. The doctor keeps reminding me this is all totally normal, and that I *will* be 20/20 as soon as my eyes are fully healed. My right eye had a stronger prescription, which means the laser had to do more damage to fix it, which means it’ll take longer to heal.

The average healing time for PRK is 4-6 weeks. Before my surgery I thought that sounded way too long to be true, but now I see that it is a very gradual process. There are a lot of steps between 20/40 and 20/20, and it may take a few weeks to get there completely.

It still hasn’t completely sunk in that I am not wearing contacts all day. But at night, when I get ready for bed and then chill out with a book or the remote, I remember. And in the morning when I open my eyes and can instantly see how much longer before I need to get up, I smile.

Wednesday, September 17th was my surgery day. I was scheduled to be at the office by 2:20pm, which meant I had the entire morning to make sure I was caught up on work, laundry, and everything else. But in reality, I counted down the minutes and spent most of the time online reading about other people’s experiences with PRK. I was really ready for that valium! At 1:30 I reminded my husband that we had to leave soon (for the 5 minute drive). I reminded him again in 5-minute intervals until we finally left at 2pm. Whew.

When we arrived at the office, we were informed they were running about 20 minutes behind. Drat. More waiting WITHOUT valium! So I played with my iPhone until they finally called me back, while hubby stayed in the waiting area playing with his (inferior) Blackberry.

The first thing they did was give me a glorious little pill called valium (10mg in case you’re wondering). I had already taken the recommended 600mg of ibuprofen at home. While we waited for the valium to kick in, the doctor asked me if I had any concerns about post-op. I proceeded to share with her my multitude of concerns for about 10 minutes until *wham* all of the sudden I stopped mid-sentence, turned to look toward the sky and pronounced that I had no more concerns. Yup – the valium had kicked in and I was feeling fine. She administered some numbing drops and left to find the surgeon. I sat in the chair with a dumb grin on my face (and twittered that I felt …)

I believe the doctor had to actually hold my arm while we walked to the surgery room, as I was a bit unsteady. The surgeon asked if I could read his name tag or the clock (my answer was a big fat no, as I was about 20/200 pre-op). Then I laid down on a cold “table” in the middle of this big room of machines. One nurse held my hands, while another covered my left eye (they always start with the right eye). The surgeon then placed a wire contraption that reminds me of the egg-holder used to dye Easter eggs over my right eye to hold my eyelid open. Then the surgery began.

Because I was having PRK and not Lasik, the first part involved a 30-second chemical bath to remove a very thin outer layer of my cornea. They all count down the 30 seconds. It’s not painful, but just a bit uncomfortable. Then the surgeon takes some sort of squeegee and wipes away the remnants of the bath.

Note: while all this is happening, you feel a bit like you’re having an out-of-body experience. It seems the surgeon is wiping away something on a window above your face, rather than your actual eyeball!

Next, I’m told to look at a red light inside a scope above my right eye. (This is the laser.) It takes 60 seconds (again, they count it down) to “re-sculpt” your cornea to perfect vision. I didn’t feel anything at all. Really, the only way you know something’s happening is by the smell. Yup, that burning smell is your eye!

At this point, my surgeon asked me a trivia question (I can’t recall the question, but I know I didn’t have the answer). In reality, it was a ruse to try and distract me from the FREEZING cold water they splashed over my eye to finish the process. Nice try. After that a contact bandage (i.e., clear contact lens) was placed over my eye.

The entire process was repeated on my left eye and then they had me sit up. Of course this is the point where the doctor asks me what time it is. Yes, as corny as it sounds, I could read the clock that was a total blur to me just 6 minutes before!

I returned to the first office (otherwise known as the valium room) for a final check of my eyes. Seriously, the entire process was a piece of cake. Had I known the surgery really wasn’t that scary after all, I might have done it a whole lot sooner.

I was told to go home and take a nap until around 7 or 8pm. Then, I had to administer 2 rounds of drops at 8pm and 10pm before going back to sleep for the night. Unfortunately, my night didn’t go as smoothly as that, but you’ll have to wait to hear more until the next installment…

For years I have dreamed of 20/20 vision. I’ve worn glasses or contacts since kindergarten, so seeing clearly without the help of those is mere fantasy. At night, I typically take out my contacts when getting ready for bed, then use my 6-year-old glasses to watch TV or read in bed. (When you only wear glasses at night, in the privacy of your own home, who cares of they are broken and outdated?)

I’ve known lots of people to “go under the knife” and have vision correction surgery, but I was always way too scared of the procedure to ever contemplate it seriously. But then in June, my eye doctor said something that changed my mind. During a routine eye exam, he explained that with each consecutive year of contact lens use the risks of infection of vision problems increase. According to my doc, the risks really increase around year 30 of consecutive contact lens use. I just passed year 20, so the 30-year mark seemed to be looming on the horizon. Suddenly the risks associated with vision correction surgery didn’t feel so scary.

So I called the office to schedule my free consultation to find out if I even qualified for the procedure, and was told I’d need to wear my glasses for two solid weeks before the consultation. No contacts for two whole weeks? Yikes? Remember how I said my glasses were six years old, broken and hardly fit for public consumption? My vanity got the better of me and I told her I’d call back.

I finally called back six weeks later and scheduled my consultation for the first day the kids were back in school – August 25. I dutifully took out my contacts on August 10, and wore my old-school glasses for two agonizing weeks (can you tell I REALLY hate those things?). The big day arrived and I was tested, dilated, and tested some more. Because the surgeon was off that day, he had to review my results and call me on Tuesday to discuss my options. My procedure was tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, the 27th.

At 2pm on Tuesday, I got the news… I did NOT qualify for Lasik because my cornea is too thin. Instead, they could perform PRK vision correction. For anyone who has not entered the crazy, mixed up world of vision correction, here’s a quick run down on the difference.

• Lasik involves a flap being cut in the cornea surface. The flap is lifted and pushed to the side, and then the laser makes the necessary changes to the cornea to fix your vision. The flap is then replaced and the eye begins to heal immediately. Because there’s only a small cut along three sides of your cornea, the healing process happens within a day — all while you’re happily sleeping (thanks to some sleeping pills). You wake up and have perfect vision. Yahoo!
• PRK is essentially the same thing, minus the flap, because some people don’t have enough room in their cornea to have a flap and then still “fix” the cornea. So instead, a very very thin outer later is removed with chemicals, then the laser continues to make the necessary changes to the cornea to fix your vision. The big difference is in healing time. Instead of a few small cuts that need to heal, you have a big gaping “hole” in your cornea that needs to “grow over”. In essence, the PR in PRK = Painful Recovery (OK, so that’s not the exact meaning, but it works!).

When I was told I needed PRK, I cancelled my 8/27 procedure. Instead, I scheduled my surgery for September 17th, so I could plan ahead for the estimated 5-10 days recovery period. I was able to put my contacts back in (thankfully) until the 12th (they have to be out for 5 days prior to the PRK surgery).

More to come…

I’ve been searching high and low for a better way to handle my kids’ laundry, particularly since my oldest likes to throw ALL the clothes laying around her room into the laundry basket, regardless of whether they are clean or dirty!

When I came across this tip, I just had to share (yes, it’s that good). If you’re already using this method, why didn’t you tell me sooner?!

In any case, each one of the kids gets a laundry bag – those kinds that can actually go into the laundry WITH the clothes. In my house, this means each girl’s bag goes from her room to the washer, then the dryer, then she sorts and puts away HER OWN LAUNDRY! Hallelujah! So if she wants to go to all that trouble for clothes that are already clean, go for it girl. I’m not doing it anymore! Plus, if she forgets to put her clothes into her bag and bring her bag to the laundry room, she can’t blame me for not having any clean clothes! This method means less work for me, and fewer lost or misplaced items (especially socks).