Expat Can See Clearly Now

It will be over in a blink

Growing up I was cursed with bad eyesight and a small face which meant that I never felt like I looked good in glasses. Whenever there was a mixed social event I would choose being blind to look good and snubbed many good-looking boys because their faces were literally a blur. I even walked past boys at nighttime that I was supposed to be meeting because I did not recognise them. I would usually organise group dates so I did not embarrass myself by approaching the wrong boy. When I started going to university I discovered contact lenses which helped but brought on all the other problems like forgetting the order that lenses must go on first then suncream or  take contacts off before cutting up chilli etc. I then had children and found glasses could not survive the hands of a toddler and lack of sleep and contacts made my eyes look very bloodshot, like I was recovering from a big night. I dreamed of the day that I would have 20/20 vision and did not realise that Asia would make it come true.

My husband has lots of local friends through his social activities and one his friend’s wife told me about the eye surgery she organised for all her friends. The procedure was simple and she had the operation which only took an hour and she went home that day. She only experienced a bit of discomfort but straightaway no more glasses. She did not need to wear bandages over her eyes for two weeks as I had always thought was required after the operation. The surgery she spoke about was LASIK surgery where they use a laser to make a flap on the cornea that improves the vision. Recovery is very quick and within days the vision is 20/20. The only problem is the flap can be dislodged if you are poked in the eye. Therefore, people who like extreme sports or have little children are not advised to have this surgery. I went for the other option which uses laser to change the shape of the cornea. This takes longer to heal but achieves the same results just no flap to worry about. In Asia these elective surgeries   are much cheaper. I rang the clinic and asked for a quote and found out it would only cost 5200rm for both eyes. The surgery was ISEC which is an international company not a street vendor and the surgery resides on two floors of a building in the Mega Mall complex. The doctors have studied all over the world. The surgery spent half a day conducting numerous tests before they would allow the operation to proceed. Once the test results come back the doctor (I was recommended Dr Michael) the doctor then takes you through the procedure and as it is elective surgery they will not give their opinion. My doctor did tell me that I will need glasses to read when I get older but that will be age thing.

I decided on surgery for both eyes as I was very confident in my doctor and more importantly I did not have the patience to wait three months for the next eye. My doctor did recommend getting both done at the same time because it makes recovery easier. Before surgery while I was waiting for my turn I read the brochure listing all the problems that could occur from the surgery. I felt like reconsidering but the nurse said these incidents were from when the surgery had started and the doctors were still learning about the process. I felt sorry for these poor people. I was prepped for surgery and it is a very strange feeling first having a suction on your eyeball so there is no blinking, seeing and feeling someone poking your eyeball but not feeling any pain and smelling a barbecue but knowing it’s actually your eye from the laser.

After surgery I felt no pain as the anesthetic was still working but later that night OMG. My eyes were watering, they felt so itchy but I was not allowed to rub them, I could not focus and at nighttime I had to stick these plastic eye guards on my eyes so I did not rub them in the middle of sleep. The next couple days were hard, if I spoke to people my eyes were constantly dripping with tears and I could not see things very clearly, cutting a carrot was very dangerous. My husband was also away overseas that week (he had a spur of the moment meeting in another country and I was not going to reschedule). At nighttime, all the lights had this halo which made everything very pretty at nighttime. However, after a week the eyes no longer hurt, the tears stopped and I could see everything and read signs without glasses. At one of my appointments to track my progress I could see all the letters on the eye chart. I was so proud of my self as I have never been able to do that before.

I thought it was the surgery that changed my eyes......

Do I recommend the surgery to people definitely but first make sure you know people who had success with your doctor and that you know all the risks.  The surgery is not for everyone.