Windexing the window to the soul

I have never had surgery. The only medical procedure I've had that would even come close was when my broken arm was set in a cast, and that happened when I was two years old.

I have never had stitches. The closest I've come is when I accidentally put a staple in my finger.

I have never had a voluntary medical procedure. Not counting the dentist, I only have ever been to a doctor's office or hospital when something was seriously wrong, or I needed a physical for school.

I have never been anesthetized. OK, maybe locally when I got a shot or something, but I have never been put under. The only "drug" that has ever knocked me out was alcohol, and that is always entirely self-medicated.

So, though I will not be getting surgery in the traditional sense of needing stitches or being put to sleep, tomorrow still marks a very important occasion and a number of firsts for me. It is the day of my PRK surgery, wherein a certain thickness of my cornea will be vaporized by an excimer laser. The results of the surgery -- being able to see clearly without glasses or contacts for the first time since I was seven -- are almost too much to comprehend, so I've been focusing (ha!) on the procedure itself. I know the technology, I know what will happen and why, I know what I will hear and smell, and I know what my role will be (just lay there and stare directly at the red light). I know the steps to recovery, I know the various phases and their timeframes, and I know what I will have to do to help things along. I also know what could go wrong, I know the complications that could ensue, and I know their respective causes and effects. Most importantly, I know the reputation and results my doctor has achieved, and I know firsthand what others have experienced. That's why I'm only a little nervous at this point. I'm sure I will get a little more nervous when they actually roll me under the laser machine, but as the Great Auk says, knowledge is power. The technology and medicine behind laser eye surgery is fascinating even if it doesn't directly impact you, and the more I learned about it, the more I knew I could accept the risks because the reward was something I wanted to experience. So please be thinking of me tomorrow morning. My life is going to change significantly, and I can't wait.