A World without walls
everyday life while homeschooling overseas
Last week, Devin and I were chatting about the fact that I had some serious eye appointments coming up. It was time to have my eye exam, get more contacts (maybe even hard this time...), get new glasses, and some prescription sunglasses. I always hate when this time rolls around because I feel so selfish spending SO much money every couple of years on eye gear. Last time I had a basic eye exam and got 2 pair of glasses and it was almost 400euros. Ouch. This time it would be more since I'd be ading contacts to the list and sunglasses. Sigh. You just can't win with bad eyesight!!
After putting it off for a long time, I started to talk with some friends. They mentioned that getting eye corrective surgery here is relatively cheap and would solve that issue of feeling like I'm wasting tons of money every couple of years. Well, last week, I looked into it, and last Wednesday, I did it!!! For me, it was one of those things that if I sat on it for too long, I'd never do it because I'd chicken out. As it was, I was pretty freaked out about it. I'd always wondered what it would be like to be able to see without the help of glasses, but it was SO expensive that it never seemed like it would be something I'd really consider. Here, though, it cost about the same to get it fixed as to go in for one year's worth of contacts/glasses. That seems like a pretty good deal to me! So, Wednesday morning, I went in to have a PRK done. It's not quite the same as Lasik. Lasik, they cut away a flap in your eye. In PRK, they just remove the front of the cornea. As I lay there on the 'operating' table, I felt like I was in Star Trek and they were going to turn me into a Cyborg!! I had on a lovely hospital gown, hairnet, and even some lovely purple crocs. he he he. They laid me down and put this 'executioner's mask' on me so just my eyes were showing. They then taped one of my eyes shut and covered it, then opened my other eye with some interesting instrument that made me think of those wire thingies that you use to dye Easter eggs. Ha! But it kept my eye open and no blinking was allowed. I forgot to mention that they sat me down in a big comfy chair at first and poured half a bottle of eye drops into my eyes to dumb them. THAT was a weird sensation! Anyway, then I looked up at a little green blinking light as they wiped my eye with all sorts of stuff and put more drops in. I didn't feel anything, but it was SO weird to see! Then the dr told me that they were going to start the laser and it would last about 55 seconds. I think I started to hyperventilate! GAH! I had to remind myself to take really deep breaths as I heard the laser and watched my vision dim and smelled that smell like you're sittin gin the dentist chair having your teeth prepped for fillings...and that was my EYE!!!! GAH!! It was really short, though, and then they switched to the other eye (after putting more drops and salves and COLD water on my eye), and went through the whole procedure again. The whole thing lasted less than 3 minutes altogether. Crazy. After the invisible drilling in my eyes, They had me sit up and open my eyes. I was a little dizzy, and I still couldn't see, but I was ok. They gave me prescriptions for eye drops galore and pain meds, and off I went with some lovely goggles that made me look very space age-y. I walked outside and almost died, so Devin and Claire had to hold my hands and pull me along the streets tot he car because I couldn't open my eyes at all. My eyes burned for the rest of day. It was pretty intense. I slept most of the day with dark goggles on and a towel over my face while the kids watched movies. Same with Thursday. Friday I was feeling much better and I even went to church! I wore my sunglasses to church and felt like a real nerd. I told people I just wanted to look cool. Half of the people at church have had this done already anyway, so they were excited for me. However, I still can't see. My field of vision right now is about 1 1/2 to 2 feet and that's it. Everything closer is doubled, and further away is still fuzzy. I have some pretty funky vision issues, too. Lukily, though, the dilation in my eyes is going down so I'm not AS sensitive to light as I was just a few days ago. I can read for a few minutes at a time, and that's good, too. I can tell that my vision is getting better each day, but it's hard to be patient!!!!!! As I'm typing this, my eyes are closed, so I'm hoping there aren't too many typos! However, I'm not going to go through and fix anything that's wrong, as it's a part of my history--this time of no sight. All I can say is I'm BORED!!! I'm never bored, but without my sight, I'm BORED!! I can't read, can't watch movies/tv, can't exercise, can't really see to clean/organize, can't cook (can't see to read recipes, chop things, or see for doneness), can't go outside...I'm BORED. THAT is the worst part of all of this. I know that in a few weeks, I should be mostly all back to normal and without glasses, but until then I admit that I'm going a little bit bonkers! I have lots of energy, but I'm not supposed to overexert myself. I go in tomorrow for a follow up appointment where they're going to take out my 'bandage' contacts (I think I forgot to mention that they put in these contacts that are supposed to cover my eye to aid in healing and I keep them in day and night until the dr takes them out). Hopefully I'll have more info about what to expect at that point. And if anyone wants to know what PRK is, please google it. I can't really manage to put any links into my text right now. Read about it on Wikipedia and from blogs of others who've had it done. I'm day 4 post-op. I haven't taken a nap yet today (I've slept more in the past 3 days than in the past 20+ years!!!!!!!!!), and I feel relatively good. Here's to hoping for a fast recovery and glasses-free sight!!!! :)
1 Comment
Rosie
6/1/2013 01:53:03 am
Wow, how exciting! But the recovery does not sound fun at all!! Maybe that's why I haven't even thought about having it done, lol.
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Who Am I?
As a Stay At Home Mom of 4 wonderful children, I have the amazing opportunity not only to home school them, but to do so in many different places! I am married to the most amazingly wonderful (and handsome) man in the whole world! Together, we seek out, every day, that Joy in the Journey that makes life exciting! Archives
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