with anxious heart, i went to rockwell, and looked for Asian Eye Insitute's building. i checked in at 1230pm, for my pre-ops; the surgery isn't until 415pm.their floor looked sophisticated and sterile, but with a welcoming feel. their friendly staff did the exact same test i did during screening a couple of days before, to "double-check" their computation for my eye correction. i didn't realize that my eyes moved so much when i thought they were still, i had to re-do tests because of it.
"blink...blink...open...wider...wider...steady...don't move...don't move...we detected movement. again," said the staff.
in my mind, i was saying:
"ang hapdi kayang magbuka ng mata ng ganong katagal?! natutuyo! wag kang gagalaw...tingin sa pulang tuldok...damn! uulit na naman?!"
finally after the test, i was ushered to the changing room, and wore a lab gown over my clothes.then they made me sit on a luxurious lazy boy, put a fleece blanket over my legs, and propped my feet up.
"did you shampoo your hair today, as advised?" "yes."
"did you put any make-up on?" "no."
"did you put on deodorant?" "no."
they told me not to wear deodorant on the day of surgery, apparently because their sensitive machines will detect it and will not be working as well.i brought wipes just in case my sweat glands work overtime because of nervousness.
they made me take half a pill of a relaxant, so i wouldn't be so jittery on the table.after a few minutes, i was informed that since the operation prior to mine has been cancelled, i'll be next. i had to call my sundo rhona and tell her that i'll finish a lot earlier.
"what time will you finish?"
"two o'clock."
"cherry, it's already 1:30.that fast?"
"i know. i'll wait for you in the lounge."
at the operating room, i met Dr. Ang, the doc who'll fix my eyes.he sounded jolly and reassuring as he took me step by step on the procedure.
they swabbed my eyes with betadyne, and put some anesthetic drops.they covered the area around my eyes with adhesive paper, then they put a metal thingie called a speculum to keep my eyes open. this was uncomfortable, since i'm kinda chinita and they had to pry my eyes wider. then the second most uncomfortable thing done on me was when they pressed really hard on my eye to apply "a vacuum." my vision turned black, and for a while i couldn't see. i was okay again when they started doing the flap, slicing my corneas.when they flipped the flap open, the red dot i was looking at became like hazy fireworks as my eyes cannot focus.then the laser was applied.although i didn't feel any pain, the smell of burning flesh made me clasp my hands together and silently prayed to God i won't go blind.
then it was over.they washed my eyes, put the flap back on, and just as quickly did my other eye.both eyes took 15 minutes.
i vaguely remember being ushered to another comfy chair.by then my vision was cloudy but pretty clear.i was given instructions, eye drops and a huge pair of goggles.
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| me with the goggles |
1. keep goggles on during day and night for the first 3 days. (this i found useful
when i woke up in the middle of the night and my finger is trying to wiggle
in the goggles to scratch my itchy eyes)
2. do not wet the eye for 3 days; that meant no shampooing.
(which meant i'll have greasy hair for 3 days; gross!)
3. no engaging in sports or do strenuous activities for 1 week.afterwards,
wear protective eyewear for activities that may predispose the eye
to injury such as contact sports (like soccer and futsal)
or sports with objects flying thru the air (like a disc).
no diving or swimming for a month. BOO!!!
since then i haven't done much, except bike to UP to do some test shots on my new lumix.my vision is very good, but not yet perfect.but i was careful to bike like an old lady and kept it slow.here are some pics:
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| yum... |
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i still can't believe i can see on my own without glasses. my trip is going to be a blast.
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