Finally! My Surgery Day Post Part One

Last Thursday I finally bit the bullet and went for Lasik. I know there are tons of horror stories out there, but I have yet to come across anyone in Canada who regrets the surgery. I also did tons of research in advance and talked to everyone I know who has had it done.

My mother picked me up in her little Pontiac Pursuit at 6:15. I was awake at 5:30 because hubby had gone to Tim Horton's and I guess I heard him leave but didn't fully wake up right away. Well, poor hubby had spilled my coffee in the driveway so I had to go and get my own! ROFL

We got on the highway early. The weather was nice, no wind, no frost, no rain. Highly unusual on the Canadian west coast (also known as the "wet" coast) for March. The drive down was uneventful and we arrived twenty minutes early. Nice!

The girls at Lasik MD in Nanaimo are so sweet; they seem to recognize patients even though I had only been there once for a pre-op consultation. I was nervous, but also excited. I felt like I knew exactly what was going to happen and that is hugely comforting to someone like me who can imagine some pretty scary scenarios sometimes!

First I saw an optometrist (the lady this time) who made sure everything was looking exactly the same as the last time. She asked me if I had any questions but I didn't really have any at all. The only thing I wondered about was how my strong eye would react to having the weaker eye fixed. I guess nobody can say for sure but it was interesting to talk to the different people in the clinic about it. :)

After that, I waited a few minutes and was ushered into the office of the financial counsellor. We went over which procedure I had chosen (I had the choice between traditional Lasik and the newer Wavefront Lasik which uses a finer laser and has more coverage for me after the surgery) I then paid her and thankfully took the Xanax. My BP had been up earlier when one of the other girls took it so I figured Xanax was in order! ;)

I soon realized that I would be in and out really early as I was slated for the first procedure of the day! Before I knew it, I was called down to meet the surgeon. I had numbing drops put in my eyes and took a last minute nervous pee. Then I met the doc. He looked very young (don't they always?) but was very calm and willing to answer any questions. He then told me he was going to show me the room.

I walked into a very cool looking room. I am fascinated by how things work, so this was a really cool experience and, being that I was calmed down by Xanax, it was all good. I laid down on the bed and they asked me for my birthdate and confirmed which procedure and which eye we were working on. More freezing drops and we were ready to go. The bed swings to my right underneath the mechanism and the attendant gives me stress balls to squeeze. The surgeon then puts the coat hanger eye holder things in. At first I say I don't like them, but once they are in, I realize that it is just fine. It was just putting them in that was uncomfortable. I can make blinking motions, just like the girl at the front of the office said, so I feel fairly normal all things considered. The surgeon talked me through the whole thing beginning with the ring thing that they put on your eyes which makes your vision black out. It's kind of like when you faint and it gets dark from the outside in. This didn't upset me at all so the Xanax must have been doing it's thing. He asked if my vision was fading and I said that it was. I didn't feel a thing when the corneal flap was cut. The next thing I see is him flipping it back. Strange. Then he says I will feel some vibrations. I do and there is the burning hair smell everyone describes. The girl to my left is doing a countdown and I can hear the we are nearly done. Wow. So quick! I see the doc flip the corneal flap back over and remove the eyelid holder. We are done! He tells me my vision will be blurry in that eye and is it ever! I sit up and am directed to a chair where the surgeon looks in my eye and does some irrigating. I am then lead to a dark room to have drops administered. The only part I didn't like about this clinic is that they put us all into the same "recovery" room. The man who had surgery after me was complaining the whole time. So there we are sitting in the dark with our sunglasses on to keep dust etc out and this guy is complaining. After a while, I am starting to feel the freezing coming out and I am ready to convalesce all by myself. I just want to be alone.

The front desk calls a cab for me and calls my hotel to see if they can get a room ready for me early. They say they can and off I go.

To be continued...