Bitter Sweet Goodbye

It's funny, because I actually have very mixed emotions right now. As exciting as it is to be free from glasses, it's actually also quite hard to say goodbye to something that has been a part of who I am for 15 years.

The Beginning ...
I started wearing glasses in grade 7. I actually didn't need glasses, but at the time, I thought it would be cool to have them! So I told my mom that I couldn't see in class, especially when the teacher would use overheads. I also started reading under the blanket in the dark with a flashlight when my mom would tell me to go to bed already. Ultimately, this pretty much ruined my eyes. My mom had no choice but to get me glasses. So as you can see, I have no one else to blame other than myself why I started wearing glasses.

Then in High School, they weren't so cool anymore! I hated them! I remember the days when my best friend Joy and I would go to the mall (we both wore glasses), and when we would see a cute guy, we would both take off our glasses quickly just before we walked by him. After we've passed him, we would then ask each other if he looked at us or if he was really as cute as we thought he was. Then we would both answer with, "I don't know, I couldn't see him!" Ha! Ha!

By the end of High School, I discovered contacts and wearing glasses wasn't so bad anymore. I only wore contacts on special occasions though. I mainly wore my glasses for the majority of the time.

Overall, glasses didn't really bother me as much, it just became a part of my face. In fact, I am trying to get used to looking at my face without glasses. My face just seems so empty without them.

Don't get me wrong, I have no regrets about my decision of getting Lasik done, it's just that I will need some time to get used to my "new face".


Life without glasses


Surgery Day - I had to be at the clinic by 7:30am. Mark drove me there. When we arrived, I had to finish filling out some paperwork and settle the bill. I wasn't really nervous, I just kept telling myself that I know a lot of people who has undergone this procedure and they were alright. The only time I started to get nervous was when I was reading the disclaimer. It pretty much stated the worst that could happen. I had to sign to ensure that I know what I was getting myself into. I went to use the washroom and once I came out, one of the girls was calling me in to the operating room already!

Procedure: They started out by putting these drops in my eyes to numb them. Then I went and spoke to the surgeon about my eyes and the custom lasik procedure I was about to go through. He checked my eyes once more to ensure that the records that were collected prior to that day were accurate. He then gave me a chance to ask any questions.

After that I was brought to lay down on this table. The surgeon told me that he will walk me through the whole procedure. I just need to listen to what he says. He started with my right eye. He taped my eye lashes up, put a suction cup over my eye and a metal clamp to keep my eyes open. The whole time I was able to see, things were just blurry. Then he moved my head under this machine and told me that he was making the flap on my right eye. Then he did the same thing to my left eye.

Once the flaps were made, he told me that they were going to start the laser. I had to keep on focusing on this flashing red light. Once the laser actually started all I saw were these flashing blue lights. I was told to not move and keep on focusing on the flashing red light. Once my right eye was done, the same thing was done on my left eye.

After both eyes were done and the flaps were put back into place, I got up and the surgeon finalized everything by making sure that the flaps have sealed properly. I was able to see, but things were still a little hazy. The whole procedure took approximately only 20 minutes! After I got out of the operating room, I saw Mark waiting for me and he gave me a thumbs up sign. I replied back with a thumbs up sign too and he was shocked that I saw what he did! LOL!

I had to wait for about an hour to make sure that everything was going well. Then I was released to go home. I pretty much slept the remainder of the day.

The healing begins - I had to keep up with all the drops that I needed to put on my eyes. I also had my follow up appointment. Everything was going well. I had 20/20 vision! Mark didn't allow me to watch TV or go on the computer. So what else did I do? Sleep! =)


The healing continues - By day 3, the redness of my eyes are slowly disappearing and my eyesight continues to get better and better.

Today - I was able to watch a full movie today! =) Got in trouble a little from Mark because he doesn't want me to push my eyes too much. But so far so good. I just need to continue with my eye drops for a bit and wear my dark "Stevie Wonder" glasses to protect my eyes.

Funny thing that happened today - My family and I went to church and I wore my glasses because I didn't want to freak out anyone with my bloodshot eyes (they might think I'm a vampire, LOL!). There were these 3 young kids sitting in front of us. The whole mass, they kept on staring at me! What was funnier was when I would sing, my sister said that they thought I was blind, but then I would have a hymn book and sing! Ha! Ha! It was hilarious!

Things I'm still getting used to:

• Sometimes I still catch myself pushing my glasses up or looking for them. This morning, I was feeling around for my glasses when I woke up only to remember that I didn't need them anymore! LOL!
• Thinking that I am wearing contacts and that I need to make sure to take them off before I go to bed.

Phew! I know this was a very long entry, but I wanted to document all of my experience. =) Overall, I am thrilled that I finally had to guts to do this. It's true what the say, "It truly is the BEST thing you can do for yourself!"

Thanks for the prayers and support. Here comes the brand new Me!! =)