I can see clearly now…

my specs are gone! I had laser eye surgery on July 23rd!

Here’s the long story.

September of 2008 I had a consultation with Lasik MD in Kingston, ON to find out my candidacy for laser eye correction. Although I was eligible to receive the surgery there was a concern about the fact that I had just had a baby, and therefore my surgery was postponed for at least one year, and until I was more comfortable.

Fast forward to July 11, 2009. I went to Polaris, a convention in Toronto, where I was given a Clonetrooper helmet as part of a trade deal. The problem was that I couldn’t wear my glasses while wearing the helmet. I retreated to my hotel room where I went on to the Lasik MD site and booked another consultation, this time for July 15th.

At my consultation I was told that my prescription had changed in my right eye, but that everything was still wonderful, and we could go ahead with the surgery. The competent and friendly staff were able to book me in for the next Thursday, July 23rd!

Thursday came and Justin and I made our way to Kingston. Zaphyn was with my mom all day. I arrived at 10:30, had a pre-op check that ensured my prescription had stayed the same, and that all readings were accurate and consistent with previous recordings. My appointment for surgery was not until 1pm. At 11am I was taken into the counselling room where the steps of surgery, post-op care, eye drops and check-ups were explained. I was then given the time to go get lunch. At 12:45 I returned to the centre and was given a Percocet. At 12:55pm I was escorted upstairs along side Justin and two other patients.

I was first on the list, so I was also first to receive my hair net, and have my eyelids sterilized (they don’t want anything to get into the eye during or after the procedure).

Upon entering the surgery room I was greeted by the surgical team who walked me through the surgery again. Many people have asked what was going through my head at that moment. Seriously, it was “Gee, I hope this doesn’t take too long, we need to add a dollar to the parking meter.”

The entire procedure was uncomfortable, but not painful. There is a suction put on your eye that prevents it from moving. It produces a pressure much like a sinus headache across your eye sockets. After that they only problem I had was post surgery when they found a piece of dust under the flap they had cut in my eye. It resulted in my flap being opened up an additional 3 times before the little spec dissappeared. I completely respect the team for being so thorough. That eye is still a little more swollen than the other, but I am otherwise back to normal!

After the surgery they kept me in the darkened waiting room upstairs for a few minutes. I was then assisted with putting my first set of drops in my eyes, and then escorted downstairs. I waited there for my post op check-up, and was sent home a total of 45 minutes after my surgery.

I slept for 12 hours straight that night, and was up first thing the next morning for another check-up in Kingston. Not even 24 hours later I was already at 20/20!

It was definitely one of the best things I have ever done!