*Raven*

Mama I Can See!! (My LASIK Surgery Story!)

Hey Fabbies! So I had an interesting weekend! In a matter of a few days, I just finally decided that I was going to get LASIK eye surgery. My contacts had been irritating my eyes more recently than not, and I had grown so tired of dealing with contacts and glasses for so long! Ugh! For those of you who don’t know what LASIK is, it’s basically eye surgery used to correct vision in people who are nearsighted, farsighted, or have astigmatism. (I’m nearsighted and have astigmatism. During the surgery, the doctor reshapes the cornea using a highly specialized laser that has ultraviolet light to remove microscopic amounts of tissue from the cornea, refocusing light entering the eye for improved vision. As someone who was worn contacts (and glasses when my contacts were irritating my eyes) since I was 15 years old, I was more than ready to get this done!

Now I have to admit, the whole thought of someone doing surgery on my eyes was a bit intimidating. I mean, they’re my eyes for goodness sake!! So after researching the Dallas and surrounding area for a LASIK specialist, I decided to go with Dr. William Boothe, who, after speaking to him, has been in the business for almost 28 years. I first scheduled to have a free consultation, where they basically gave me an exam to see if I was a candidate to receive LASIK. During this procedure, they had to take pictures of each of my eyes, and examine my pupils. At that point, I’m guessing it was pretty obvious that I was a candidate. After that, the doctor came in and asked me if it was something that I’d want to do, and I said yes! So he then put numbing drops in my eye, then measured each eye with some little pen-looking thing while we had small talk. (Our small talk included talking about sports; he said I looked like a basketball player lol, his weight loss of 60 pounds, how long he had been married, etc..)

 

About to get my eyes measured
So after my were eyes were measured and paperwork filled out, I was sent home with surgery instructions! This included, keep my glasses on until surgery, which was scheduled for Saturday morning, August 9. I had to be there bright and early at 6:30 AM. I was told to dress warmly as the surgery room would be very cold, and to also wear closed toed shoes. Also, I was instructed to not wear any makeup, moisturizer, or lotion. “Come in with a clean, bare face!” I was then given prescriptions for pain for afterwords, and for antibiotic eye drops that I had to use every 2 hours prior to surgery. So I was all set and ready to go! Eeeek!
The morning of surgery, I showered, had a light breakfast, and then sashayed to my waiting SUV. (I ordered a car service so Chris and the kids wouldn’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn).
At 6 am heading out for surgery. Bare-faced and wearing Victoria Secret Pink sweats.
So I get to the surgery center, get all checked in and am ready to go. Cell phones were not allowed at all, so I unfortunately don’t have any pictures of the surgery center. But the surgery went something like this:
They gave me a sedative to relax, then the nurses began my round of numbing eye drops, I was then led to a waiting room (along with about 10 other people who were waiting to get surgery. This is where I’m sure the sedatives were supposed to begin working, which they did! It made me sleepy lol.) After about 30 minutes or so, I was then called back into the surgery room. I was then led to a cot-type bed, where I laid down and they then put a tool on each eye. The actual laser surgery took about 3 minutes per eye, and while I couldn’t feel anything, it was very weird seeing all these bright lights right in front of me. And, I could even see the doctor peeling back my cornea, but I couldn’t feel it! Technology is crazy right?!!
So after the doctor was done, he told me I “did a good job”, and my eyes were taped closed, and I was led to the post operating room, where I sat for a few minutes before waiting to get my eyes examined by another doctor. When I opened my eyes, my vision was a bit blurry. He checked my eyes and told me that everything looked great. The nurse then gave me instructions on what to do that day and beyond, along with prescriptions for pain and for more antibiotic eye drops.
The driver picked me up at about shortly after, and I went home to rest for the remainder of the day. I was given shades that I have to wear for a week, so I wore those, along with a big hat in the house, as we have huge windows that lets in lots of natural sunlight. And well, my eyes were still sensitive:

 

Snuggling in bed with the kiddies.

 

As the day wore on, my vision got better. And better. And better. I took naps off and on, and Chris was amazing, as he took the kids outside to a nearby park so that I could rest without interruption. (I just love me some him!) By the time the sun went down, everything looked as clear as day!! I was amazed. I continued to use my eye drops as instructed, as my eyes were extremely dry. I also was given eye shields to sleep with as well. The next day I had a post operation appointment with the doctor to ensure that everything looked well, and I was able to drive myself there. Meaning, I could see well enough to drive without glasses or contacts. The doctor said that everything looked great and that I was recovering like a champ! 🙂

I’m still restricted on certain things that I can do for the next week or two, including taking a bath instead of showers, not being able to swim, and not sleeping with the ceiling fan on (it causes dry eyes when you’re recovering.) Otherwise, I’m functioning normally, and am even allowed to exercise, as I went for a jog today.
If you are interested in getting LASIK, I’d suggest that you do your research and learn everything about it. I have to say that I am beyond glad that I decided to do it, and for those of you who told me that you loved it and am glad that you got it done too, thank you!!
Mama I can see!! 🙂

10 comments

  7. Glad for you. Reading about this sure gives me incentive to give it a try! Thanks for all the details about it. You've answered many of my questions. To be able to see without corrective eyeware sounds like heaven!

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  8. You should totally do it!! You certainly won't regret it! After a while, corrective eyeware becomes a pain in the ass and you just want to be done with it!! So go for it!! 🙂

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