Before my decision to get corrective eye surgery, I wore contacts almost every single day for twenty years. Each year I had to have an annual eye exam and order a new stock of contacts, and every few years, new glasses were on the docket in addition to my expensive contact order. At night, I couldn’t just fall asleep. If I did, I’d wake up with dry, sticky eyes that probably looked as rough as they felt. No naps with contacts on (which was especially tricky in the early days of motherhood when you are told to nap every chance you get), and yet when I wore my glasses all day, I never felt like I was “ready” for the day. Sometimes I considered putting on contacts while I showered and did my make up, then switching to glasses for the day and chucking a perfectly good pair of barely worn contacts, simply to justify the expensive glasses I had to also have.
What if I left town and forgot to bring contacts with me? What if the airline lost my bag with my contacts in it? What if my contact order was delayed and I was simply out of what I needed? More worrisome than those anxieties were thoughts that really had me looking into surgery … What if my kids need me in the night and I can’t find my glasses to get to them? What if I lose a contact while driving and they’re in the car with me? What if someone breaks into my house and I can’t identify them in a line up because I’m practically blind? We all know the spiral.
In December, the time came for me to place my annual order to restock my contacts – and I didn’t want to. If I had my way, I would have gotten LASIK when I was 18. It would have made a great graduation gift, but Lord knows I wasn’t that practical. It is recommended you not get pregnant 1.5-2 years after surgery as the hormones do change your eyesight (like everything else). It is also recommended you get the surgery before the age of 40 as your eyes are already aging towards needing cataract surgery at that point (depressing). Being 32, done having kids, out of contacts and settling into a prescription of -4.75, I decided I was ready for a change.
But surprise surprise, I didn’t qualify for LASIK due to my prescription strength! Instead I qualified for what is called PRK; while the details of LASIK vs. PRK are above my pay grade, what stuck with me is PRK requires a little more down time and recovery, where LASIK is immediate and thought to be easier. Think of them like a high level skin treatment vs. a basic facial … but for your eyes. If you have ever been told you don’t qualify for LASIK, there are other options for you that a qualified surgeon (like Dr. Swann) can offer you.
I found all of this out by going to my (free) consultation at Brazos Eye Surgery of Texas. I had friends who went out of town for eye surgery, but the idea of that didn’t seem convenient enough to be my reality. I’m a busy mom, taking a day trip to Dallas to do something for myself is even less likely to happen than doing something for myself here locally. So, I began the process by going 2 weeks of wearing no contacts (which was challenging, yet manageable – especially over winter break when I had a lot of “at home” time.) I met first with the team of techs at their impressive facility located right off HWY 84 near Providence Hospital. I went through all of what seemed like the usual eye tests, but are actually top of the line equipment that most Waco optometrists might dream of. Then I met with Dr. Tenous, their in house optometrist, who has surgical level training. He told me my eyes were too dry for surgery due to a variety of reasons, but most likely from staring at my phone or computer screen and wearing contacts for such an extended time. They sent me home with loads of special eye drops and instructions to not wear contacts for another week and to keep up with drops every hour. By my next visit, I was cleared for corrective eye surgery!
Surgery was a BREEZE. My husband and our Waco Moms videographer were both able to be in the room with me (which is freezing btw). I took a few more pre-surgery eye tests, laid down on the fully reclined chair, and was told to stare at the light. Whatever I was feeling, don’t stop looking for the light. Dr. Swann is intense and a quick moving pro who chose to play reggae music when he could have easily been playing the mission impossible theme song. They numbed my eyes with drops, covered one eye, and then did what felt like rubbing a Q-tip on my other eye while he counted down 10-20 seconds. He squirted cold water in my eye, then moved onto the other side. It was all over in probably 2 minutes. I hopped off the table, he examined me again, and suddenly … I could see!
That night I went home and per my instructions, took my 1, prescribed, Xanax and slept for 14 glorious hours. The next day, I woke up feeling like a million bucks. A little sensitive to light and foggy, but otherwise I could see. Now … do as I say and not as I did: I did not rest my eyes. What does that even mean? Well, it does not mean read and type messages on your phone nonstop all day. I paid for that lack of rest the next day when my eyes were extremely fatigued and extremely sensitive to light. This continued in varying amounts for 2-3 weeks, though driving was really the only time it truly bothered me. Let me be clear, it was never painful, but bothersome and I needed the most dramatic sunglasses that wrapped around the sides of my face. My eyesight got worse before it got better, and at one point I was worried I had messed it up because everything was so blurry. However, slowly but surely, my eyes cleared up and I was completely confident driving, reading, and using my computer by week 4; Dr. Swann confirmed I had 20/20 vision at my 1 month appointment!
There was 1 hiccup along the road to recovery and it had me so grateful that I chose a local surgeon. Something got in my eye while it was healing and scratched my, still raw, cornea (hurt like a son of a gun). I felt it and immediately just left my eye shut because opening it was a no-go. Rather than make things worse by trying to get it out myself, I had a colleague drive me to the office and walked into Brazos Eye and said, “Something is wrong.” They proceeded to flush it out, checked me out, and put a bandage contact on my eye to give it a week to heal and I was back on track. Had I had surgery in Dallas, I would have been at the mercy of another optometrist who might not want to mess with someone else’s case or an ER doc, that didn’t specialize in eyes, would probably have given me a steroid and hoped for the best.
Surgery is a big deal, and you only have 2 eyes, but don’t let fear or concern for short term inconvenience keep you from taking a step towards making your life easier and ultimately better! Since my corrective eye surgery, I go to bed being able to see. I wake up being able to see. I travel without glasses or contacts, and this summer I am even going to give swimming with my kids with my eyes open a try! Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose. Thanks so much to Brazos Eye Surgery of Texas!
Brazos Eye Surgery of Texas is offering $1,000 off of corrective eye surgery to those who mention Waco Moms for a limited time! Call now to schedule your free consultation!
