At the age of 24, I decided to have corrective eye surgery. I knew my vision wasn’t perfect. I got my first set of reading glasses when I was in high school, but rarely wore them. In college, I had an eye doctor tell me that my vision had gotten so bad that she highly recommended I get contact lenses. She told me I was almost legally blind… which although it did scare me, I felt she was being dramatic. She kept telling me that I would notice the difference between just wearing glasses versus contact lenses … and I did! But I hated it. I hated contacts. In fact, it took me over an hour to put them on the first time. Thankfully, I got better at it, I just hated it. Since my prescription was so high, I wasn’t even able to get colored contacts, which let’s face is… it’s the only perk of contacts. Well, I decided to wear my contacts only when needed and for the most part, stick with my glasses. When I ran out of contacts, about a year later, I realized how expensive they were!! At my yearly eye exam, I learned that my vision had gotten worse, and so had my astigmatism. So I picked out new frames for glasses and ordered the “test” contact lenses in my new prescription, but because the prescription was so high I was told it could take 3 weeks to get the test contact lenses and after that another week or so if I order a pack of them. It was all becoming a bit much and realizing how bad my vision was… I asked my eye doctor if I would be a candidate for Lasik. She said no and that my vision was so bad that there isn’t enough research on the consequences and success of Lasik on my level of astigmatism.
At this point, my mother had already had LASIK eye surgery (bad eye sight runs in the maternal side of the family). So, with my mom’s encouragement, I decided to get a second opinion from her eye surgeon. After a consultation, I was told that I was not a candidate for LASIK.
My heart was crushed, and I almost wanted to cry because I knew that my eye sight would only get worse. At the age of 24, you don’t think about losing you sight as you get older. I then got some great news…. PRK surgery was still an option! I knew a little about PRK so I was extremely happy that I was a candidate! PRK stands for Photo Refractive Keratectomy. The difference between LASIK and PRK is that in LASIK, an incision/flap is made to make the correction; PRK, the top layer is basically scrubbed off to make the correction.
I scheduled my PRK surgery for an evening in February 2017, specifically the Thursday before President’s Day weekend. There was a good amount of paper work to fill out and a few surgeries scheduled, so there was a bit of a wait time – However, I spent it reading the cutest get-well letters from my husband’s first grade class ❤
The procedure from the time I entered the room to when I exited took less than 15 minutes. I laid down on a chair (similar to the dentist chair but way comfier) and was given a teddy bear to hold on it (gave me something to do with my hands/distract me).
I am not sure if the surgeon used a sticky pad/tape or a clump but something was put on me to keep my eyes from closing –it didn’t hurt at all, I didn’t even feel it. Which is why I can’t exactly tell what was used (I am sure I was told at the time).
The surgeon commented on my astigmatism and told me he would try to fully correct it and the goal was to get me to 20/20 vision. I was administered different drops into my eyes and instructed to look straight up into a red dot. While the laser is going it smells like burning hair but there weren’t any weird noises and I didn’t feel a single thing! The actual lasering takes seconds per eye. As soon as the lasering was done, I was administered more drops and the surgeon put band aid contacts on my eyes. The surgeon told me he was able to fully correct my astigmatism. He told me I had 20/20 vision and when I got up from the chair, I glanced at the eye test chart that was on the wall in front of me and I couldn’t believe it… I was able tor read every single letter on the chart, without putting effort in to it. I had stared at this chart before the surgery, only being able to read the top line.
I was then taken to a dark room where my band aid contacts were checked again, just to be extra sure that they were okay. I was given a little bag that had a starter pack of eye drops, sunglasses, googles, and post op care instructions. I was given a prescription for pain killers and other eye drops, one of which was steroids.
I wore my googles to sleep that night and for at least the rest of the week. When I wasn’t sleeping, I wore the sunglasses. I stayed indoors for at least 3-4 days and tried to stay in darkness as long as possible for proper healing and to avoid light sensitivity. I had absolutely no discomfort or pain after the eye surgery.
After the long weekend, I returned to work on Wednesday (I decided to take an extra day even though I was okay).
The most important thing for a healthy recovery is to follow the post care instructions!! Wear the goggles, wear sun glasses, make sure to use all eye drops without missing a dose!
I just had my one-year post op exam and I am still 20/20! Its amazing to be able to see so clear. PRK has been one of the best decisions and investments I have made!
Category: Uncategorized
Two Weeks of Healing
This past week I took Diggy to his two week post surgery check up… and he is doing amazing! His surgeon is super happy with where he is in his healing. He was very active during the visit, barking non-stop and walking around….so much that they had to take him to a different room to finish his check up because he was clearly showing off infront of me. He tried to run (he isn’t there yet) and tried to stand up and lean against a wall (he isn’t there yet), he slipped each time so he still has to be monitored closely and continue on his “crate rest.” We aren’t too worried about him slipping/sliding every now and then because after all… hes spine surgery was only a little over two weeks ago, however we do want to limit his ability to have moments that cause slipping (i.e. running/jumping). At one point, he’s surgeon sat down on the floor while explaining his progress and continued care and Diggy climbed on her lap and laid there… clearly his way of saying “thank you.” I can’t even begin to explain how thankful I am for Diggy’s surgeon. From the first consultation, to the MRi, to facetiming us through it all because we were out of state, to her obvious love of pets… she and her team are literally the best! ❤
*I’ll write an update post on Diggy after this next check up in March
25, A Quarter of a Century!
This past Saturday I turned 25, one of those milestone birthdays. I’m still trying to process how I feel about it; I mean I am a quarter of a century now! There may have been a slight midlife crisis. I decided to do kind things on the week leading up to my birthday. I…
1. Picked up trash. I live across from a school and now that it’s summer I’ve noticed a big increase in the amount of trash that is left on the field and court. I play tennis and often take the dog(s) and my niece over to the field and courts to run around and it’s not a pretty sight with all the trash. I took gloves and a trash bag and picked up as much as I could.
2. I brought in chocolate chip cookies (store bought) to work! It was Thursday and I thought having nice treats helps push through the day!
3. I left flowers at the cemetery. This might sound morbid and it wasn’t my original idea but it turned out to be a memory I’ll remember forever. I got a dozen white roses and placed a single rose on different tombstones throughout the cemetery. My husband’s biological father was laid to rest in this specific cemetery, so we walked around until we found his spot. It was my husband’s first time visiting and we realized that his dad’s birthday was just the day before. It was over all an endearing moment.
4. Donate food to the women’s shelter. I went through my pantry and picked out all the canned goods that would be expiring in the next few weeks. I also went to my local grocery store and bought a few items, such as cereal, pastas, and more canned goods.
5. Donate different items to the Children’s Hospital. I spent the morning of my birthday dropping off coloring books and crayons. I had never been to the Children’s Hospital but got to see a little of all the great things that they do there to help children. There was an artist at the lobby who was playing guitar and singing. I also got to see children talking live at the Ryan Seacrest studio. I did have plans to donate blood as well (it would have been my first time) but unfortunately my iron levels were too low.
In the past, my birthdays were always big. Big as in, growing up I always had a party… clowns and puppeteers were included! As a teen and young adult, I always celebrated with a lot of friends – sometimes ALL week long. This year, I really wanted to keep it simple. I spent the evening at home having dinner and cake with my family – followed by opening presents! Afterwards, I went out for a few drinks with my husband at a new restaurant that opened a few minutes away from my house. I can’t wait to see what being twenty-five brings me, but it’s still weird to think I am closer to thirty than ever before.
5K on a Saturday
Have you ever been so proud of someone that you almost can’t formulate the word to express just how much? That’s where I’m at. My husband ran his first 5K a couple of weeks ago, benefitting RAINN – the organization for the National Sexual Assault hotline. He was very active on social media on the months leading up to the event. He posted helpful resources for both survivors and family/friends of survivors. He shared stories that really resonated with him and made it a point to be a leaning shoulder for anyone who may need it. I admire his strength and openness on a topic that many choose to ignore. He trained a few weeks for the race and it definitely paid off! He finished his 5K in 13th place at 24:50. It was really awesome to see people come together to support victims of sexual assault. We are looking for other 5K’s in the DC area so if anyone knows of any coming up, let me know!
Why I Started This Blog
Why am I starting this? Thats a pretty big questions and I could take at least an hour answering it. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. A space where I can gather my thoughts, memories, and pictures. I’ve always loved documenting my life. I think it stems for my love of photography. Growing up, my mom was always taking pictures or videos of our lives. She passed that on to me. I started taking pictures when I was about 8, with disposable cameras. I wish disposable cameras would make a come back. I got my first “real” camera when I was about 10, a Polaroid! Shortly after that, I got my first film camera. Through the years I have gone through several, and I mean SEVERAL cameras, usually upgrading along the way, but I still LOVE the vintage and film best. I was also that kid that kept a dairy. At one point, I even shared an on going “friendship dairy” with a small group of girls, we would pass a journal amongst each other… it was quiet special. I’ve lost all the journals through out the years. When Xenga (before myspace) was a “thing,” I was always blogging after school, so I think its time I pick it back up.
Other than my love of documenting, my grandparents are a big reason for this. Both passed away too soon. I deeply cherish the memories I have with them but I desperately wish I would have asked about their childhood, and life over all more. Having this digital space not only lets me look back on my own memories but will also be available to anyone who one day may wonder about me. My life has changed so much in the last few years. From graduating college, working at Disney, getting married, getting a real adult job, and turning 25 soon…. I want to make sure I remember it all.
