Operation Day
Today's the big day. I wake up to the smell of pancakes and freshly cooked bacon. I'm feeling a little groggy from the pain medication, but the carbs from the pancakes gave me a jolt of energy. When I arrived to the ferry heading towards Seattle, we were the first car all the way in the front of the boat. This has never happened before, so I like to think that it's a sign of good luck. As I'm sitting in the car, I couldn’t help but notice the sun piercing through the clouds and reflecting off of the water. It was then that I realized that after the surgery, I'm going to have to adapt to the darkness like Batman and rely on my other senses like Daredevil.
When I arrived to the Lasik Vision Institute in Bellevue, a feeling of overwhelming excitement engulfed me. I was greeted by all of the staff which really made me feel very comfortable. It's a good thing I had some forms to sign along with a detailed breakdown of the procedure to keep my heart rate down. I'm getting PRK surgery instead of Lasik and from my research, I believe PRK was more of my preferred method.
With Lasik, there's a corneal flap that's created using a special instrument called a microkeratome. That flap is then folded out the way where the visual correction begins. The whole procedure is completely painless for both Lasik and PRK. The only concern that I have with Lasik is that the method to expose the cornea by creating the corneal flap using the laser, can potentially penetrate deeper into the eye. This can cause a number of long term side effects due to the possibility of hitting nerves. I felt confident and safe that there would be no complications by getting PRK.
I sat and waited wearing a blue hospital cover over my head and shoes. I can tell the other woman wearing glasses waiting for her operation was nervous, so I comforted her by focusing on how she would feel with her new vision. The things that she would do, the places that she would go see, and the way she would feel without glasses. Discussing that with her and seeing the nerves disperse is what comforted me.
Here we go. I briefly spoke to the doctor and nurse. Asked them some last minute questions. Then began the procedure. They sprayed both of my eyes with a solution that numbs it and used a clamp to hold one of my eyes in place. They then used a special eye drop to remove the outer layer of the eye revealing the cornea. When he did this, my vision split into 6 different views almost like I had 6 eyes! I felt like Spider Man (Spoilers) when he was transforming and acquiring his power.
After he removed the outer layer of my eye, he brought over the instrument for the eye correction and told me to focus on the green light in the middle. There was a countdown beep then my vision went blurry for a couple seconds. The doctor then cleaned the excess solution on my eye and put a temporary lens to protect it. That's it. He repeated the same thing with my other eye and 10 minutes later I'm walking out with my shades on. Then it hit me…
Post Operation: Day 0
As I'm riding in the passenger seat with my Dad driving home, a massive burning sensation struck me. It felt like I opened my eyes under a pool with too much chlorine. It was absolutely unbearable and I constantly was cringing. When I got home, I laid down and tried to take nap. I eventually fell asleep, then woke up to a pizza and no pain. YES!
I spent the rest of the night listening to music and putting my eye drop medication into my eye. My vision would shift back and forth from blurry to clear. I remember seeing the moonlight piercing through my window with a haze like aura around it. My thoughts surrounded the room. I felt like Batman sitting inside the bat cave contemplating what he'll do next.
Post Operation: Day 1
I woke up feeling like $1 million bucks! I was refreshed and felt no pain. The only problem was that I couldn't see a damn thing. I attempted to go into the kitchen and the sun light was so bright that it felt like the sun was right in front of me. The brightness was unbearable even with my eyes closed. It's a good thing I meal prepped plenty of chicken breast and sweet potatoes in advance.
While I was sitting in a dark room with absolutely no light, I began to open my mind. I entertained myself by listening to the "48 Laws of Power" and "Mastery" both by Robert Greene. Hours go by as I'm laying down on the floor listening.
Post Operation: Day 2
Every time I blink, my eyes feel like a cat is scratching my eyeballs. I can tell the tissue in my eye is beginning to heal because of the irritation. I had to keep my eyes closed and rely on my other senses.
I challenged myself to see if I could move around without my sight. The frequent eye drop medications along with the trips to the bathroom from staying hydrated, kept me moving and occupied. I'm surprised how well I memorized my surroundings and how I was able to do everything with just my sense of touch. Daredevil would be proud.
Post Operation: Day 3
I woke up in the middle of the night with tears running down my cheek and my eyes burning like Mario's fireballs! It was a similar feeling to after my surgery on the car ride home. I thought the pain was over, but then it finally was.
I was surprised to wake up feeling fine. No pain, but my vision still was blurry and I felt like my sensitivity to the light was way more intense. I couldn't even look at the small LED bar under my TV without squinting and looking away.
Post Operation: Day 5
I've exhausted all of my audio books, listened to a large amount of my 3000+ song collection, meditated, and visualized my actions for the future. I had to figure out something different to do.
I turned on the NBA playoffs in the other room and went into the hallway to listen. I'm still pissed the Rockets beat the Thunder. I couldn't stay still any longer and even though the doc said I wasn't suppose to do any physical activity, I had to at least do some calisthenics.
Visualizing the game with the commentary and stimulating my muscles was a very satisfying feeling. There's just something about doing all of this in a dark room with my eyes closed that made me feel like Batman and Daredevil.
Post Operation: Day 7
Today's the day of my post op check up and the first day that I have to go outside. Fortunately it's a cloudy day, but it was still bright. I put on my shades and prepared for the challenge. Fortunately I had my Dad helping me otherwise, I would've definitely crashed my car and missed the ferry to Seattle.
When I arrived they did a quick vision test and looked at my eyes to see my progress. I could barely see the line under the giant "E". My eyes were really dry and the healing process was a little slower which is expected since I was aware that I have dry eye going into the operation.
Even though he told me that I'm doing fine and to keep doing what I'm doing, part of me was disappointed. I thought I'd be able to see a little better or at least the same as before not worse. How long is it going to take for me to finally recover and see this beautiful world clearly?
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