The Gift of Sight

I worte this in December 2004 after LASIK eye surgery. LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis and is a procedure that permanently changes the shape of the cornea, the clear covering of the front of the eye, using an excimer laser. A knife, called a microkeratome, is used to cut a flap in the cornea. A hinge is left at one end of this flap. The flap is folded back revealing the stroma, the middlesection of the cornea. Pulses from a computer-controlled laser vaporize a portion of the stroma and the flap is replaced.

I can happily report that everything is still really great with my vision, and even though it has been two years, I still try not to take it for granted. On with the post!

Recently, I had the opportunity to have the LASIK corrective eye surgery performed. I am not really one for going to a doctor unless I have to, but after wearing some form of vision correction since the 5th or 6th grade, that option has become more desirable over the last couple of years. It was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that having a laser burn imperfection out of my eyeball could be a good thing.

After making the initial appointment, the doc checked me out and said that my eyes were healthy and that my prescription was in the range of having the surgery be successful. It is hard to know what questions to ask. Will I have x-ray vision like Superman? Can I get night vision or thermal vision for no extra charge? Could they inject more blue coloring into the iris of each of my eyes? So many questions. Never once did I ask if it would be painful or if there were any side effects from the laser like what if I had a convulsion that makes my head move enough that my nose would get cut off by the laser and make me look like a freak forever?!?!

On surgery day, mom picks me up at the condo and makes me drive. The pre/post op room was neither fab nor drab. Six very comfortable recliners line the walls with a nurse's station in one corner, and one of those eye magnifiers in the other corner. Grace, the Physician's Assistant (PA) came over and asked me what I wanted, and I said, "I would like for you to numb and dilate my eyes, and that if she would be so kind, provide ibuprofen and a Valium, and some water to wash down the pills'. She complied, added some stylish headwear and shoe booties to my order, and as the Valium was taking the edge off of my tension, I sat down at the eye station and the most remarkable thing happened. The doc said that he was going to 'mark' my eyes. I thought that he was going to take pictures of my eyes or something, make a printout, and then do the marking on the paper. But this was not the case. What he did instead was uncork a sharpie-like pen, and proceeded to dab at each eyeball. I can't believe it, all this money for the procedure, and he uses a common sharpie...makes me wish I would have studied harder in school. Since my eyes were numb, I couldn't feel it, so it really wasn't a big deal.

I return to my recliner for a bit longer, and another one of the PA's comes in and asks me if I am ready, and I follow her out to a room where they actually do take pictures of my eyes. I can only guess that from there, that data gets loaded into the machine that actually controls where the laser does the cutting. After the pictures, she takes me into the actual surgery room and I lay down on the slab-like table. I realize that my life is about to change forever. I really can't see anything that anyone is doing because of the amount of blinding light that is emanating from the thing hanging above my head. And the key is to stare at the blinking red light. The rest of the time was a blur...my right eyelid gets propped open, some type of device is place onto my eye that seems to be clear...keep staring at the blinking red light...the device that follows obscures all vision for a few seconds while the flap is cut...the cutting device is removed, the flap gets pulled back, and my vision suddenly gets really blurry...keep staring at the blurry blinking red light...20-30 seconds of the laser pounds into my eye with, well, laser like precision (note: I couldn't see the laser, but I could feel the heat from it and it sounded like an arc welder)...come on Bryan, keep breathing...the laser shuts down and the flap is returned to it's proper position...my eye gets irrigated and the same procedure is performed on my left eye. The table automatically moves back out and I laid there for a minute and then I sat up and just sat there for a minute. The PA led me back to the comfort of my recliner. After 10 or 15 minutes, I crack my eyes open and look at the clock on the wall that is about 25-30 feet away...and it looks pretty clear to me. Amazing! Just like that? Mom comes back, I get my instructions, and I spend the night at the parent's house since I had to be back to get checked out at 7:40 the next morning.

At 20 hours out from surgery, I was 20/25 in both eyes. Am I dreaming? The doc says that there is some inflammation in my left eye and had me double up on the drops. 44 hours out of surgery, on another followup, I could read the 20/20 line on the chart! The only weird thing that I am experiencing is what is called the 'halo effect'. And no, this isn't what happens when you play Halo 2 for 320 straight hours. The halo effect is looking at a light and seeing an extra glow around it. It looks cool through the lens of a camera if you are looking for that kind of effect, but it really isn't desirable in real life. Friends that have had the procedure done have told me that the halos go away after a while, so that is a good sign that everything is normal so far. There hasn't been any post-op pain at all, which still surprises me, so that means that I get to save the Darvosets for recreational use...ok, not really. Just kidding. Really.

I still really don't know what to think. I can see, on my own, without any assistance, for the first time in a very long time. I never thought that a procedure like this would even exist, much less be successful on actual people. Driving down the road, the urge to laugh hits me so easily because everything is so clear and sharp. I am very thankful to God for allowing man to develop the knowledge and resources to improve on His already perfect creation.

I think that I am going to enjoy this new lease on life.