For the last 25 years, I have worn glasses or contacts. My vision progressively got worse as I got older and, for the last seven or more years, I have been wearing -7.00 and -6.50 contacts. This means my vision was 20/2000 -- otherwise known as really bad! If you cannot see the big E on the eye chart, you are 20/400 and they say you are "legally blind" if you are 20/200. For a long time, I had dreamed about having Lasik and seeing the alarm clock when I roll over in bed or my kids' faces in the middle of the night.
So after years of talking about it, I finally did it last Friday! And it is a MIRACLE!! I now have 20/20 vision!
The procedure was simple. I went to Dr. Coleman's office at 8:30am, they mapped my eye and did a bunch of tests, I took a Xanax to calm my nerves. Then it was surgery time! For 5-10 minutes, I looked at a red blinking light as they removed my cornea, reshaped my eye with a laser, and put the cornea back. About 30 minutes later, I was in my hotel room, wearing protective eye shields and taking an Ambien to sleep the day away. I awoke at 9:38pm that night, seeing the alarm clock for the first time in +15 years! I watched TV as I ate a pizza in bed and thought, "This is a miracle!"
I had been saving money that my mom gave me when she died for something life changing. I had many "mom moments" while I was there. For example, when I woke up in the office after the surgery, the first thing I saw with my new eyes was a spokesperson for the ALS Association on the TV talking about the new stem cell research and how it will help people with ALS! And when I got home I received a random card my friend Michelle that sang my mom's favorite song, "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang! I guess my mom approved!
Before
(with my hero Dr. Coleman)
(with my hero Dr. Coleman)
The next day
(Dr. Coleman gave my eyes an A+!)
Just after surgery as the Ambien was doing its thing
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