Never have a few quadrillionths of a meter made such a difference

I sat up from laser eye surgery and was able to see clearly without glasses at 9:09 am on Thursday, March 16, 2006. I know because, for the first time in 20 years, I could see the clock!

I got to the doctor's office at 8:00 Thursday morning and was immediately prepped for the surgery. They gave me a Valium and told me all about the eyedrops I would have to take and the eye shields I would have to wear while sleeping. Then I waited for what seemed like 20 minutes while they finished up with the person ahead of me. (This was easily the longest single phase of the entire process.) They brought me into the laser room and put in a few eyedrops and prepared my right eye. This simply entailed taping my eyelashes down and inserting an eyelid spreader. By this time I was lying flat on my back with a small curtain covering my face except for the right eye. First they removed the epithelium (the topmost, superficial layer of corneal cells) with what looked like an electric toothbrush. Then they lined up my head just right and told me to concentrate on the flashing red light. When everything was ready, they fired the laser, and I could hear the clicking, snapping sound of the machine and see a purple ring of light around the red light, which could have been the laser itself. The actual lasering took only about 20 seconds, and the results were instantaneous. I could see the blinking red light come into focus as the laser did its job. Then they applied some ointment to my eyeball with a small sponge and washed it away with water. I couldn't look around at this time but I could see the details of the laser apparatus above me. All that remained was for the doctor to apply the bandage contact lens over the ablation. Then they did my left eye, and I sat up after laying down for probably a total of eight minutes. That was when they asked me if I could tell the time. I knew it was a trick question because there is never a clock in any medical room, except when they want you to realize that your vision is sharp!

There were just a couple of final details to take care of. They gave me a pill for the pain and applied eye shields and sunglasses, and sent me on my way! I could walk to the car on my own just fine, and even though I saw everything sharp and clear immediately after the surgery, even at this point I couldn't read license plates on other cars and there was a multiple image effect when looking at stoplights. As soon as I got home the pills kicked in and I fell right asleep. I woke up around 1:00 and could see probably around 20/60 -- large objects were in clear enough focus, but I couldn't read details or see sharp outlines. I could, though, watch the NCAA tournament and make out the score at the bottom of the screen, but the scores of other games across the top of the screen were out of the question. The rest of Thursday I was in surprisingly little pain, especially compared to what I had been expecting.

Friday I woke up seeing about the same and had a follow-up appointment first thing. All looked well to the doctor, and even though the letters were slightly blurry, I could read some middle level lines on the vision chart. Even though whatever line I read at didn't count as my actual vision -- since I was still looking through the bandage contact and the abrasion itself -- I was at least on the chart! Before I couldn't even read the big E without glasses. The pain was noticeable, but easily ignored, and remained about the same the rest of the day, but my vision diminished slightly in the afternoon. My eyes were getting tired around 6 pm, so I laid down for a nap and the next thing I knew it was morning!

When I woke up Saturday I thought things were a little less clear but I couldn't be sure, but as the day went on I definitely knew it was a little worse. This was actually something I was prepared for, since my research stated and my doctor agreed that the second day post-PRK brings the most fluctuations. I was most sensitive to light on Saturday, as I couldn't even open the blinds to let some non-direct sunlight in. During the later parts of the day, I experienced more scratchiness and foreign object sensations in both eyes. But other than that I was completely aware and actually getting a little restless from being inside the past three days!

Sunday brought some significant improvement. I could see close to 20/40 when I woke up with little to no pain. I think I even saw better than that as I was awake for a few hours! In the late afternoon a little pain set in, and by evening it felt like it used to when my contacts got off-center or dry or were getting ready to fall out. Eyedrops temporarily relieved that sensation, and for the first time I could read before going to bed!

This morning was about the same as yesterday. I could see pretty sharp, definitely not quite 20/20 but better than 20/40. I've had no pain to speak of all day, though I have noticed that I can't see as well in darker rooms. That is certainly to be expected, though, as the healing process continues. I have not taken any of my pain pills since the operation. Maybe all those years of wearing gas permeable contacts toughened me up a little! For now, it's just a matter of continuing to take my eyedrops and taping on the eye shields before bed. I go in tomorrow to get the contacts removed and even though there might be some slight regression then (due to the small prescription that is in the contacts), I should be pretty stable around at least 20/40. The healing process will take weeks and months, and even though the improvement won't be noticeable day to day, it could be six months before I'm at my final result from this surgery. I will continue to post my progress, but early returns are showing nothing short of success. At this point, I would recommend PRK to anyone and I'd get it again in a heartbeat.