Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The End Of The Bright And Shiny Era

A few years ago, on my 30th birthday, I decided to give myself the gift of sight by undergoing LASIK laser eye surgery. At that time, I had been a contact lens wearer for the last 10 years and wore glasses 3 years prior that. I was not totally blind although hazy and fuzzy were words that would best describe the vision I had of the world when I was off my lenses.

It was quite something when the laser machine actually greeted me on my birthday (because I did it exactly on the date of my 30th birthday).

After that, everything was so clear. The surgery did go well. I was truly amazed at the power of technology. I could see even the smallest dot at the farthest corner of the sky. So this is what they called 20/20 vision. I dubbed this my "bright and shiny" era when every single thing was...well, bright and shiny.

But of course, all good things must come to an end. It was a gradual event that took a few years in the making. It shouldn't have come as a surprise although for me, it was just a shock to find that one morning, I could not read some small letters on the TV screen when I woke up. The realisation was that my vision was starting to go. Again. A visit to the optometrist confirms that I'll be needing new glasses when I drive at night. But she assures me that all is still well and I am far, far away from where I was before the surgery. It is not the end of the world. Just the end of the bright and shiny part without lenses.

There are many reasons for the decline, most of it has to do with age and heredity. Plus, I was still the same old girl with her same old dangerous ways - working with computers, reading too much, watching too much, straining my eyes, etc.

I do not regret going through LASIK though. It was the brightest and shiniest years of my life. Even if the benefits I reaped felt very brief. I knew this was eventually gonna happen as I was informed before I underwent the surgery. It was not permanent. It was just a chance to start over again.

2 comments:

Jona said...

Just curious...do u feel anything during the LASIK operation? I didn't know that it's temporary. Anyway, I'm still happy with wearing contacts. But if I have the chance Er, budget to have LASIK, I would. I just first need to know everything about it :)

MJ Rodriguez said...

Hi Jona, they put you on anaesthetic so you don't feel anything while they are operating on your eyes. It's quite an experience because your eyes are wide open and you are awake while they are doing this. A bit unnerving and definitely not for the faint-hearted. If you ever do it, I don't think you'll regret it though.