Audrey has not been able to wear contacts for several years. The cumulative damage to her cornea from years of contact wearing meant that she was relegated to always wearing glasses. And she really needed glasses to see well. She was unable to read the one-inch-tall numbers on her bedside alarm clock from one foot away without her glasses.
Our friend Eric told us about the LASIK surgery experience he had and so we checked out Dr. Mutyala at the Weston LASIK Institute. He explained the process and answered all questions. His office and his staff were all very professional and we felt comfortable and confident in choosing them to perform the procedure.
Above is what Audrey looked like before and after her 4pm appointment. She spent two hours, altogether, at the surgical center. Most of the time was spent in preparation. First they re-explained the procedure, then they took a picture of her eyeballs, then they did a re-examination of her eye-sight (and double-checked it against her previous examination), then they installed tear-duct plugs to help prevent drying, then they collected payment for the procedure, and then they performed the surgery. The surgery portion of the appointment lasted only about 5 - 10 minutes.
The first few hours of her recovery were painful, she said, because her eyes burned. After sleeping she felt much better, although her sleep was fitful because of the required protective eye-goggles that prevent nighttime eye-rubbing (she is to not rub her eyes for one month). She went to work on the following morning and did just fine. She is a little self-conscious because she cannot wear makeup and her eyes are kinda red. But she can see without glasses. Her vision is still blurry, but getting clearer every day.
You can see in the pictures below that her eyes are not completely healed just yet. She is still a little sensitive to the light and her eyes get tired faster than before. Sometimes she has a little jolt of pain in her left eye when she looks sideways quickly.
I told Audrey that she could make the most out of her condition and avoid many of her responsibilities. All she would have to say is "I just had surgery on my eyes!" and she would be excused from almost any demand. But that is more like me, not like her.
And then I found an article online that showed me how we could have saved the approximate $5000.00 by purchasing the Do-It-Yourself Eye Surgery kit for about $100.00. Of course, when buying the DIY kit it is recommended that a person have their head examined first. :-)
