PRK Journey

No this isn't about a trip to North Korea, as that would be the DPRK. Rather, this is about my journey I'm currently taking with having PRK surgery (I believe it statnds for photorefractive keratotomy). Yes, laser eye surgery to improve my vision.

Yesterday I had PRK surgery. Since October 2011, I have been preparing myself for this. I initially set up my consultation with the opthamology department at Mercy Clinic in Janesville. They were very friendly, answered many questions that I had, and subsequently prepared myself for what was to come. Having worn corrective lenses since the age of 5, starting with glasses and then migrating toward contact lenses at age 12, I've really never remembered what I was like to not have to wear glasses. My life, as it were, has always been looking through a deep haze.

Anyhow, prior to my consultation and subsequent surgery, I was unable to wear contact lenses. This was fine for me, as the end result, I figured, would be well worth the inconvenience of having to wear my glasses all day, every day, for several weeks. This is quite an inconvenience. I don't know how many people do this, but in talking to a dentist friend whom I recentlly visited for a routine check up who does the same thing, I actually go so far as to have a set of "sleeping glasses. You know, the glasses where you really don't care whether or not they get a bit twisted, bows completely askew, etc., just because you slept with them, on them, near them.

Anyhow, this is always an inconvenience. Well, by the time the consult came, I really had to make sure that from a scheduling perspective (since a good share of my life, career is spent either in front of a computer or reading music), I had to make sure that it fit my scheduling properly.

The day of the consultation, I was very impressed with the ophthamology department at Mercy, especially my doctor, Dr. Thomassen. Due to a small thin spot on my right cornea, I was excluded for the most current LASIK surgery, but the doctor indicated that I would be a candidate for PRK. While a bit more intensive from a surgical standpoint, it would hopefully net the same end result as LASIk.

Well, I had scheduled my appointment. It was set for February 10, 2012, again several weeks after my consultation. I bit the bullet and resigned myself to having to wear glasses for an extended period of time.

As the surgery day approached, I received a call from the clinic informing me that I would have to postpone my surgery for a month, as my doctor had to have emergency surgery. Sitting on pins and needles up until that point, with thoughts racing around my brain about whether or not I would go blind, whether or not it would work, whether or not....well, a lot of things, I was disappointed, but decided I would rather have things by a doctor that wasn't feeling 100% up to par.

By the time my re-scheduled date of March 16th rolled around, I was getting very anxious to get this procedure over with.

Well, surgery day came. A dear friend of mine agreed to bring me to the clinic and wait to drive me home. I arrived at my scheduled time of 9:15, and waited. Given that the doctor had to reschedule a plethora of patients that day due to his unexpected health circumstance, they were running a bit behind. But, eventually my name was called, and I went back to have my eyes examined one more time to make sure that nothing had changed since the last appointment, and that I was still ok to proceed with the surgery.

Once that was done, the dear nurse on the doctor's team went over the myriad of instructions of what I needed to do. The first question was, "here, we're going to give you this....it's valium....to take the edge off....have you ever had valium?" Being one that rarely even takes aspirin, I hadn't. I really didn't know what to expect. Luckily, it just made me a bit sleepy, while still being in control of my inhibitions, which was a good thing, as I have no filter to what I say when my inhibitions are down.

Anyhow, I was then let to the laser room. They sat me in the chair and tilted me back. At first I felt as if I was going to slide right off the chair, and inquired as to whether this ride required me to wear my seatbelt...and...if they had seatbelts with this thing. Well, after being adjusted into place, they prepared my eyes.

Well, prior to going into the laser room, I had to have two doses of numbing agent drops placed into my eyes. This was a third round. They then waited for them to take effect. They then proceeded to take some gummy tape stuff to peel my eyelids open. It was very sticky. The next step was to then take some sort of medieval forcep type of device to hold my eye open. It was a bit weird, and was a bit stretchy.

Finally, the last step prior to surgery, was to use a buffer type of tool to prepare the surface of my eye before the laser began. This was quite possibly the weirdest, unsettling part of the whole thing. The tool, which to me seemed very much like the polishing tool a dentist uses after they've finished cleaning your teeth, was then brought down to my eye, and they proceeded to buff my eyeball. It was REALLY weird. Felling just a bit of pressure, and being able to see the circular buffer swirling around, it was unlike anything I've ever experienced.

Well, then came the laser. Placing this machine over my eye, all I had to do was to stare into a red light. Hearing the assistant do the equivalent of a rocket launch, "verifying...calculating....processing...proceed...," the laser started. With 33 seconds of snaps and cracks, and an occasional whiff of something burning (my eyeball), it was over. They then repeated the same process for my right eye.

They then place a couple of contact lens "bandages" on my eyes, took a couple of plastic shields, taped them over my eyes, and handed me some pretty sweet sunglasses, and sent me on my way.

Having not been able to see for 37 years of my life without corrective lenses, actually being able to see faces, see the clock, etc., was a bit overwhelming.
My friend was there to wait for me to come out, and I went on my way.

All the while, I was actually testing what I was able to see while on the drive to pick up lunch and then go home, signs, license plates, billboards, everything. My dear friend was so patient with me and affirmed my every identification. It was a pretty emotional thing for me. This emotion, probably due to relief, stress, being overwhelmed, and incredibly happy, was very intense. While my eyes were somewhat sore, and very sensitive, it really was something else.

Having had lunch, and sitting in my recliner, I was able to take a nap for a bit (recommended by the doctor), and relax. How great it was to be able to read some of the stuff on the television!

After my friend left, I took a break, sat back in the recliner, and fell asleep, all the while with my wonderful plastic shields taped to my face. I think I woke up eventually at 9:30p.m., and wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get back to sleep. The doctor had given me something to help me sleep (temazipam), but remembering that that was something that was given to my mother to sleep through pain while she was ill, I decided to avoid using it at all costs. Luckily, I was able to sleep through much of the night without interruption.

Waking up this morning, it was really something to be able to see the alarm clock, and to see the TV. While my eyes still feel like I have sand in them, and that I cannot focus on things for long periods of time yet, the overall experience I have had has been overwhelming.

As i wait for my follow up appointment today, I can only say it's been amazing so far.