Close to forty years ago I got my first pair of glasses. I remember it being an amazing discovery to realize it was possible to see individual leaves on a tree. I kept putting my new glasses on and taking them off just to understand how little I actually had seen before.
About thirty years ago I got my first set of contact lenses, and felt as though a new world had opened up. I could walk in the rain and still see; I could come inside from a wintery night and still see; I could dive into the ocean and still see. For twenty years I wore my contacts from when I got up in the morning until I went to bed at night, and I was happy.
About ten years ago my eyes started changing and wearing contacts wasn't so comfortable anymore. My eyes felt red and dry, so I started blinking more, rolling my eyes and getting frequent headaches. I spent more and more time at the optometrist trying to find contacts that both felt ok and improved my vision.
Five years ago I had to start wearing reading glasses on top of my contacts. If I was wearing my regular glasses instead of contacts, I could slide them down to the tip of my nose to read, but eventually my nose started to become too short! I really needed bifocal or progressive lenses in my glasses. Since I am myopic (nearsighted not shortsighted!) I could - without contacts or glasses - see objects close to my face very well. I was back to the game of putting my glasses on and off (or even sliding my contacts to the side) so I could, for instance, read the washing label when I was doing laundry. I refused to wear my reading glasses on a chain around my neck!
Less than a week ago I had Laser surgery done to my eyes, and am patiently waiting for headaches to go away and to see the leaves on the trees again.
Before the surgery my vision was about -6.75 for distance and +1.50 for reading. Since they are not able to correct the old age reading problem, I was apprehensive but ready to give up the ability to, ever again, read without glasses. To my surprise the doctor had a solution to that problem! He suggested leaving my non-dominant eye a little myopic, thereby making one eye for distance and one eye for reading. I knew they did this for people wearing contacts, but did not think such an easy solution could apply to laser surgery as well. The doctor had me try it with contacts first and I was amazed! I could walk down the stairs, read the street signs, dial my phone and even see what time it was on my tiny wrist watch. It might take the brain up to three months to fully adjust, but since it worked immediately with contacts I knew it was what I wanted to do.
If you want details of the surgery, you can find many web sites and blogs that describes the process. I just want to tell you that I felt like I was in a science fiction movie. I cannot imagine how brave the first person to put his eye under the laser needle must have been! Now they have done laser surgery for so many years, and are so good at what they do, there is no need to worry. The surgery itself was easier, quicker and much less painful than going to the dentist, but it was a totally weird experience. When you go to the dentist you can't really see what the dentist is doing, but you have enough knowledge and previous experience to have a mental picture of what is going on. I had no mental pictures of how laser surgery is done, and I had a lamp 10 inches above my face, so I had no idea what really went on. But still, my eye was fixed in position and I could not look away. I saw odd shapes and colors, black spots like when you stare at the sun, flickering dots and reflections of my retina, and whiffed the faint smell of smoke...
It is amazing to walk half-blind into a room, and 5 - 10 minutes later, walk back out again being able to see clearly. My eyes felt pretty sore as the anesthesia wore off that first afternoon, but day by day they feel less and less grainy and my vision keeps improving. I have to admit that I am a little impatient, because I can't see 20/20 yet. But, I have to remind myself that it has only been a week, and compared to how I used to be able to see, it feels like a miracle. It might take three months to know if my surgery was 100% successful, but since I've waited forty years, a few more months sounds like a bargain.
