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…
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