I Can SEE!!!!

     After 40 years of wearing glasses and or  contacts... I am a free woman!!! 

 Now let me back up and give you the whole story... 25 years ago I went to the Dr. to see if I was a candidate to have LASIK surgery. I was told that my eyes did not qualify to be done and that the procedure would not work for me...over the years I had heard that the technology had improved and I should try again. For one reason or another I never did.  Honestly, it was mostly fear that kept me wearing glasses and contacts...the idea of a laser going in my eye and the slim possibility that something could go wrong kept me from even seeking current information.  In December, after talking to several family members who had the procedure done ( and even one who admitted to being a wimp like me!) I finally decided  it was time for me to get the courage up to go in for an evaluation.  I dragged my feet about it...telling myself that I was to busy or that the timing was not quite right due to several things going on in our family. I even started to talk myself out of it...I shared my fear with a few friends and ultimately decided that if I was not a candidate or if something was going to go wrong it was all going to be up to God anyways...  Finally, in April...a few weeks after my birthday, I went to Dr. Tylock in Irving TX to hear what they had to say about my eyes. Driving to the clinic was like driving to an interview...I was a nervous wreck!!! I replayed in my mind what it had been like the previous two weeks of wearing my glasses full time and all the things that I had missed out on over the years of having to wear contacts or glasses. By the time I arrived I was ready for whatever they had to say...if I was not a candidate then that was my answer...but if I was ...well then it was time to move forward...  As I sat in the waiting area between the different exams, I kept seeing people come in and go out...some like me, waiting to find out and the happy ones on the other side...done!  It was finally time to see the Dr...and he was amazing!  I told him how nervous I was about the whole thing and he just assured me that I was indeed a candidate.  He actually said that the exams that they had just put me through were harder than the actual procedure.  He told me that each eye would take about 20 seconds from start to finish and that I would not feel a thing. I joked with him and asked him to write "runner or flight risk" on my chart since I might be his first patient ever to get up and leave the procedure room...He had the nurse write."Highly Nervous and Emotional"...and then followed up with an assurance that none of his patients in over 20 years had ever even gotten close... once they were in progress! My evaluation was on a Monday and I scheduled for the following Thursday...but started to chicken out so I called and changed to that week on Thursday! 

We arrived at the scheduled time and were quickly taken back to begin...just like they said...15 minutes in the procedure area...20 seconds per eye and like that I had 20/20 vision!!! Seriously, two minutes after they were done they checked my vision and it was perfect!!! Bill drove me home and I pretty much slept the rest of the day and night...I woke up not believing that my eyes were perfect and told myself I had just slept in my contacts...after a few drops I spent the day not doing much but managed to go to a lacrosse game that afternoon!  I watched my son play a great game with "new eyes!" 

I donated 4 pairs of glasses to the mission trip box at my Dr. office!!!  I put them on one last time and could not see a thing!  I really was blind before.

I gave one of my friends all my solutions...4 bottles!

They told me that my eyes would continue to improve over the next month or so and should be stable within 8 weeks...so in August I will go back to see if I need any kind of adjustment.  They were actually surprised that I did not need readers yet...which is something that I chose to accept if I had trouble reading up close rather than have one eye different than the other. Overall, this has been the most amazing experience.  I am so grateful for my eyesight and look forward to enjoying summer activities without worrying about water, suntan lotion etc getting into my eyes! Even now, I still forget that I am not wearing contacts...doing something for 40 years is a long time to change habits!  I really have to say thank you for Mimi and Cowboy as they were the ones who encouraged me to go and they even offered to pay for it!  They took all my excuses away and for that I am grateful!

I donated my contacts to the Dr. office for people who have to wait for that strong of a prescription to arrive since most Dr.'s don't keep one like mine on hand. I wish I could have found a charity to give them to but I kept running into dead ends.