Lasik

I had been coveting lasik eye surgery for a long time. When I went to Texas in May for my brother's homecoming, my dad and I went to the Mann Eye Institue in Houston to be evaluated. My dad was not eligible, but, as far as they coudl tell, I was eligble, but they didn't tell me before my appointment that I needed to come in without wearing my contacts for a week. So I left knowing I might be eligible, but no immediate follow up or surgery scheduled. I considered doing it over Christmas break before we went to Mexico, but then I read you can't swim for a few weeks after surgery. So I decided I needed to declare my own fall break and go home and get it done in October. If it turned out I wasn't eligible, my friends Megan and Emily were also going to be around and I would also be able to spend time with my parents so the trip wouldn't be a complete bust. I went without my contacts for 10 days prior (makeup for 4 days - I was quite a sight) just to be sure. I flew out on a Wednesday, went straight to my pre-op appointment where I found out I was eligible! My surgery had already been scheduled so for the following day. Luckily while I was there, they were running a groupon for about 25% off so I was able to get it for cheaper than I had planned.

I wanted to make sure my lasik was fully documented so I had my mom take pictures and videos of everything. I had an endoscopy once and I treasure those pictures of my esophagus and stomach like you wouldn't believe. Nerdy, I know.

Getting prepped - my last pictures as a person with bad vision!

The surgery was so easy and SO fast. I couldn't believe it. I was given a valium so I would let them hold my eyes open with metal brackets. First they created a flap on both my eyes using one machine, and then I was moved to another where they did the actual laser correction. In total, surgery took less than15 minutes. Incredible.

Surgery

My eye on the big screen

I went home and crashed. I had to wear these crazy eye protectors for the first 24 hours after surgery and then while I slept for the following week or so. I was feeling great so I went out to dinner with my parents and we even went to see Footloose at the movie theater - and I could see it!

Sheilds

Not having glasses or contacts is a pretty amazing experience. I know my vision was not nearly as bad as many others', but I still required glasses or contacts no matter what or else I got a splitting headache. I had my follow up appointment in March and I'm still seeing 20/15! I'm really grateful I was able to have the surgery with no complications. Hooray for seeing!

I also got to explore some of Houston with my parents while I was there. We found a place called Scrapdaddy circus where the artist made movable art with scrap metal and also visited the Rothko Chapel. The chapel is interdenominational and they even had a Book of Mormon available! We also ate some delicious food and went the MFA. I love Houston. :)