A new worldview

Well, the Lasik went well, but boy, it takes some getting used to. My near vision is gone. Kaput. Finished. I was pretty darned nearsighted, so I could basically count the numbers of hairs on my arm if I wanted to (and ew, I just got that concept and, ew). It was actually pretty good for untangling jewelry chains and things like that. Fine work was easy. Yesterday, I couldn’t so much as see the channel numbers on the remote, and I was thinking this was the biggest mistake of my life, even though I could see the time on the DVD player from across the room, which I couldn’t the day before.

This morning, my friends gave me an old pair of reading glasses that’s less powerful than they can use anymore, and my whole world changed. I can use the computer again. I can see the keyboard. And I’m no longer worried that I’m partly blind.

Of course, I also want everything to be healed and done and ready to go. What? I need more than 29 hours to heal? You’re kidding.

This morning’s conversation with [very hot] post-op doctor:

“I’m going to remove the bandages from your eyes now.”
“WHAT? THERE ARE BANDAGES IN MY EYES?”

Yes, indeed. There were bandages in my eyes, and I didn’t even know it.

My old glasses are utterly useless now. I’ll be donating them all to the Lions’ Club. And I get to go and buy a new pair of way-cool sunglasses. They gave me a pair for now, but I know what I’m looking for. Actually, I want several pairs, and most especially, I want that pair that Linda Hamilton wore in T2. I’ve wanted that pair for years. Time to go look up what they were.

I’m here in NJ until Monday. Oh, I didn’t tell you. My doc is in NJ. He’s really good, and this way, I can rely on my family to do things like take me to the surgery early in the morning and make sure I get back home safely hours later. (They gave me Valium to calm me down for the surgery. It was necessary. I was nervous.)

The most awesome thing isn’t that I can see the time on the TV across the room. It’s the utter clarity of my vision as I look at the autumn leaves on the trees. It’s the ability to see almost everything around me. I may not be able to count the hairs on my arm, but I can count the leaves in the trees now, and that’s a trade I’m happy I made.

I can see. I can read half-inch type from eight feet away. Clearly. This is amazing. Like Scott said, it’s a man-made miracle.