I was absolutely petrified to go through with eye surgery, and am generally an extremely anxious…read moreperson as it is. To know that I was considering trusting someone to shoot lasers into my eyeballs was horrifying. For this reason, I've put off LASIK and hadn't seriously considered taking the leap of faith for years. About three years ago, I was told that I could no longer wear contact lenses, or I'd risk blindness due to over a decade of wearing contacts while out surfing. I guess the combination of saltwater, sand granules, and whatever else trapped between the contact and my eye had caused severe scarring and repeated infections. Without contacts, surfing just hasn't been the same. I couldn't see well enough out in the lineup, and felt very depressed remembering what it used to be like when I was able to wear contacts out there. My only option was eye surgery, or a lifetime of squinting and not really enjoying my biggest passion in life, which I've been doing for 24 years.
I came across Clearview online, and spent tens of hours, literally, researching the clinic, Dr. Sandy Feldman, reading reviews, etc. I decided to go in for a consultation, and was immediately put at ease by the friendliness, professionalism, and patience of the staff. In terms of patience, I'd especially like to thank Jared, who sat with me for over an hour answering all of my questions and addressing my concerns, never being forceful or trying to get me to sign and schedule. We discussed what type of surgery was best for me, how much it was going to cost (I received an Educator discount which was great,) and what the recovery timeline was. I ended up scheduling surgery for yesterday, 5/15, which at the time was about two weeks out.
Last week, amidst another freak out about this, I called Jared and asked if it would be possible to observe a LASIK operation to settle my nerves. Sure enough, he found a patient that was kind enough to oblige and invited me in to watch. The entire operation took less than ten minutes and looked like no big deal! The patient came out smiling and said he felt fine. That really was the final piece that encouraged me to just commit and get this handled.
I went in for surgery at 2:30 yesterday. I was a terrible patient, did not take things well, was not calm whatsoever, and repeatedly freaked out. I squeezed the small teddy bear they gave me as if I was a toddler, and squeezed the surgical tech's hand, asking Dr. Feldman if "everything was ok," and "did something go wrong?" She exhibited herculean levels of patience and empathy. I got through it, there was absolutely no pain, and the experience felt like something out of a science fiction movie. It was actually very cool!
I went home, took the provided sleeping pills, and passed out. While I woke up intermittently throughout the night, the worst of it was just a feeling like I had sand stuck in my eyes, blurry vision, and a sensation as if I was looking through a steamed up glass. I woke up this morning around 5, (twelve hours of sleep is more than enough,) and found that the gritty sensation had since disappeared, my sight was near perfect, and I felt more or less normal. Unbelievable! I drove myself to my pre-op appointment (without glasses), met with Dr. Amir who told me that I was healing nicely, and was in and out of the office in ten minutes.
I challenge others to be as freaked out and apprehensive about going through with eye surgery as I was. I was doing all of the things you shouldn't do:
-Googling horror stories about LASIK going wrong
-Hyperfixating on the rare low review and looking for one that stated someone had gone blind
-Listened to a bunch of Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder and considered if my degree in Jazz Saxophone would be enough to make a living as a blind man
All is well! My only regret, as many have stated, is not getting this done sooner. Just do it! You're going to be fine, you'll love the results, it does not hurt, and you can trust Dr. Feldman and her team. Thank you all so much for everything!
