Here's looking at you, kid.

Well, it's been nearly 4 years since I've last posted... it's about time to start sharing my prairie adventures again, no?

Lots has happened since we last spoke. Today, I want to share with you an experience I had about a week ago that gave me a whole new outlook on life...

Shortly after Garret popped a ring on my finger (YES! I'll be sure to share that story too!), I toiled with the idea of wearing glasses at my wedding or suffering through contacts. Neither were optimal. 

Glasses: Glare from lenses in pictures, less glamorous makeup, what to pair with a dress?!
Contacts: Dry. Ill fitting. Crappy Vision. (Thanks to the ol' astigmatism, I have not been able to find a comfortable lens that I actually can see clearly through-- the key purpose of contact lenses.) 

So, what's a girl to do? 

Lasik. 

I hummed and hawed and in August 2016 I booked a consult with my local optometrist. He stated that I would be a great candidate and sent me off to Saskatoon for a pre-op. The pre-op was painless. Tests, dilation, woah, and confirmation that Lasik would be a good option for me. 

So after re-scheduling my surgery about 4 times, and 9 months later, the day finally came.

24 Hours Before Surgery: Major Requirement: No makeup. Ahck! I can't wear makeup to work? How will I function? Children will fear me! Wait, what? No one asked me if I was dying? Why my eyes looked so small and ill-defined? Did I need a hand carrying all those bags under my eyes? No comments or questions asking if I was sick or tired. So yeah, I'm pretty self conscious when I don't have makeup on. I at least like to sport some mascara to feel human in public. If anything, this was a boost of confidence that life isn't so terrible without my security blanket. 
After my makeup-free workday, we drove to Saskatoon to stay at Chateau King; surgery at 10:30am the following morning. 

Morning of Surgery: Read. Re-Read. Re-Re-Read pre-op guidelines and surgery process. Review everything that could possibly go wrong with my surgery and eyesight. Stare at Garret longingly in case it is the last time I ever see him again. 
Venture into a few online forums and reaffirm that Lasik is pretty awesome. 
Wait anxiously for Garret to finish his coffee so we can head into town... come ooonnnnn let's gooooooo!

At the Clinic: Check in and sit in the waiting room. A TV depicting #LasikLife is on loop showing extreme athletes doing incredible tricks on bikes and snowboards. Note to self: I will become an athlete after surgery. There are a few people ahead of me but I am soon called in to see the optometrist who did my pre-op all those months ago. Friendly, jovial, and down to business. She confirms the procedure I'm going for, double checks my prescription, reviews the process with me and what I will need to keep in mind after it is complete. A few minutes of chit-chat and she sends me on my way to the consultant (payment collector). Phew, first part done. 

Next, payment. Gross. This is the part I was actually most worried about, but I made a commitment to myself and in the long run, it's an investment. Not only will I be good to go for the wedding, I won't have little one pulling at my glasses during late-night feedings (waaaaaay in the future) or dog nose-prints/slobber on my lenses. I went for the Custom Wavefront Lasik, which I guess is a bit higher technology than the standard procedure that came out 20+ years ago. They state it will give me better night vision (less likelihood of halos) and the option for a lifetime warranty. For a few extra bucks I am eligible for touchups if my vision regresses at anytime for the rest of my life (and as long as Lasik is in business). Deal. 

Now, I wait. At this point, Garret has departed for his own adventure since I'll be here for a good four hours and parking downtown Saskatoon is not cheap. I'm corralled with the others who are waiting for surgery: a highly anxious 20 year old male who protests the numbing drops before seeing the surgeon. Chill dude. A middle aged man who appears to work in the patch, a moody 20-something with her doting mother, and me. No one speaks to each other. It's clear we're all nervous. 
First up: Moody 20 year old. She goes into the procedure room. It is silent for a few moments except for some murmur of voices and then you hear a sound akin to the old-school dot-matrix printers. Skreet-skrreeeeet-skreeeet. Silence. Skreet-skreeeeeet-skreeeet. Silence. Murmurs. Door opens and she's out sporting sweet shades. Holy sh*t that was fast. Ten minutes? 

One by one we're called up to the chair to the left of the surgery door. The tech preps each person with numbing eye-drops and a blue surgical hair cap and gives a run down of what's to come. While I wait I scroll through my phone and enjoy the memes Instagram has to offer. 

The Procedure: Okay. I'm on deck. Breathe. Breathe. Who convinced me to do this? Oh, me! Why am I doing this? (As I listen to the soft laser sound in the room next to me). Too late! 

I get the numbing drops and soon I feel my eyes go numb and a bit heavy. 

The door opens and I am called in by a young man sporting a short mohawk and green scrubs. Dr. R. Riyaz. Nice guy. He asks if I have any questions and runs me through the procedure once again. I'm fairly dumbfounded that I have got myself to this point and just state that I'm nervous and fear that I will somehow mess up the procedure. I'm reassured that the laser will stop immediately if I happen to look away. Okay, cool.

I'm led to lay on a cushioned bench with a contraption arching over my head. As my glasses are off at this point, everything is hazy and due to my nerves, I didn't look around too much. Once I'm positioned, I'm given two stress balls to squeeze whenever I'm feeling anxious. I sure gave those suckers a workout. 

The surgeon talks through everything: A few more numbing drops, taping my eyelashes back, putting in the vice to hold my eyelids open (which is by far the most uncomfortable part of the procedure... and it wasn't horrific), and then putting on something what I assume was to stabilize my eye. I felt the pressure of it but that was all. 

Now,  I am asked to look at the green light. What a nice light. I am told I will feel a slight vibration and I do. As I read the manual a million times, I know that now my cornea is getting sliced open. Next I see the surgeons hand come towards my eye and he states that things may go black for a bit... and they do.  Keep looking at the light. Now, we begin! That skreeeet-skreeet-skreet that haunted me through the door is upon me. The green light turns nebulous as the stage around it goes black. Woaaaaaaaah. Maybe 10 seconds of the nebula and a faint smell of burning (yep, that's my eye being singed away) and the sound stops. The blackness returns to light and I am instructed that the first eye is done. Whew. Fairly Painless! A wave of relief rushes over me. My right eye is covered and he moves onto the left. 

A short minute or two later and I'm done. This is serious money making business! How many people can they push through in a day?!

The surgeon inspects my eyes through a microscope to make sure the incision is clean and the flap is replaced well. All seems well and for now, it looks as though I'm underwater without goggles. Things seem clear, but wavy and hazy. Weird. 

I put on my sweet new LasikMD shades and am led into the waiting room. A few more drops in my eyes and I am asked to chill with my eyes closed for about an hour until the optometrist calls me in to check my progress. 

Post-Op: The time goes by fast, except for the sniffling wife waiting for her husband (oil-patch guy), and a disgruntled toddler. The instructions said no kids in the office! It's really not that bad and I just revel in the fact that I did something huge today. Go me. 

My hour is up and I'm called into an optometrist's examination room. Another friendly folk and as he inspects my eyes and bp we discuss the drastic change in hair colour since my patient picture was taken back in August and have a short discussion on the importance of higher powers, the 12 Steps, and Masons.  We review my post-op activities and drop schedule and he sends me on my way, ready for Garret to pick me up. 

As I wait I can feel the numbing wearing off and my eyes begin to sting a bit. Like a cut onion is nearby. Not bad though. Garret arrives quickly and we're off! BOY was it bright outside! The shades could have been just a touch darker for that first rush of daylight. 

The drive back to Chateau King is quick and I resist the urge to test my new vision on street signs, billboards and landscape. I ask Garret questions about his day and soon enough I'm tucking myself into bed in a darkened room as per instructions. Drops every hour, no reading, texting, tv, or daylight. Sleep in my sunglasses to prevent rubbing and chill. 

Naps, etc.: I go for a guided meditation to get me through the first hour between drops. 
I then opt for some Mitch Hedberg and chuckle through the next. My eyes sting and tears/drop residue runs down my cheeks. Yeah, this part sucks a bit. My eyes feel gummy and that someone rubbed an onion covered in sand in my eyes. Some Ibuprofen and the pain quickly dissipates. Nice.

The drops and naps continue until a poor decision to join the crew at a pub one block away for supper. I feel like Jenna from PLL. Is she blind? Is she faking? How does she get around so well in those sunglasses. We crack a few Corey Hart jokes and I decide that the pub was a bit too ambitious for me. Hard no, back to darkness! I get my food to-go and return to bed. 

24 Hours After: I wake up the next morning with gummy eyes, but the pain is gone. I can... I can see! Holy Smokes! The under-water effect is gone and is just a bit hazy in the distance. A lovely confection of goo and crust coats my eyelashes and I resist the urge to rub my eyes for relief. 

After some breakfast and coffee and marvelling at my new vision, Garret drives me to my super-early follow up back where I'm told I have nearly 20/20 vision. Fit to drive. Follow the drop schedule. Don't rub my eyes. 

When we emerge from the office tower, I feel like a badass with a new mission. I switch from my LasikMD shades into my sweet Chestermans by Burnt #ad. Life through a new lens;  free of corrective lenses. Look-out world I'm coming for you!

7 Days After: So, it's been a week since my procedure and it has been great. Though, I still am unable to shoot lasers from my eyes or see through walls. There is some uncomfortableness with sleeping in sunglasses and some dry-eye, but I knew what I was getting into. Do not regret it. My vision is fantastic already. Not perfect in the far distance, but I am super impressed with the clarity of my close range sight. I can read, do computer work, and function as a member of society. A few nights ago my local optometrist reviewed my eyes and said things are healing great. There's just two blotchy red marks on my eye, hidden by my top lid; this too was expected. Once all of the swelling is down and my eye is healed, my vision should be clear and perfect. Score!

So today I will venture outside to do some gardening in the sun and--finally-- not have to switch between glasses for indoors and outdoors. What a treat! If you're on the fence about the procedure, or scared about a laser shooting at your eye: it's worth it. The team at LasikMD Saskatoon was AWESOME and I recommend Lasik (or PRK) to anyone who is tired of glasses or contacts. It truly is a life changer. 

Why did I write so much about my experience? I know talking with friends who had the procedure done eased my anxiety and confirmed it was the right choice for me. I hope this information is entertaining and helpful to you. 

Have a great weekend everyone. 

xo