Friday, May 29, 2009

LASIK Journey: Sight and how much I appreciate it


Today I had my pre-op appointment at Gailey Eye Clinic to see for what, if any, laser vision correction I might qualify. I have never had my pupils dilated before, and I was a little anxious about that part of today as it was uncharted territory.
I was dilated at about 9:30 this morning. They put a drop of the solution in each eye and sat me in a room for a half an hour. It was wild because I was watching the first season of M*A*S*H (which, by the way, was comic genius), and I could see the TV just fine with my glasses on.
"This stuff is not working," I said to myself, "I am supposed to be blind, right?"
Well, after about 15 minutes I attempted to look at my watch. No way was that happening. It was a total blur. And when I took my glasses off, I could see better than when I had them on. Bizarre.
The picture above was one I just took. My pupils are still a little crazy, which is expected, even though most of my vision is back to normal. My peripheral vision is still funked up, but I obviously can focus enough to type this, and, yes, I can read my watch. Scott says I look like I anime.
Now you may look at the photo and think, "You look fine!" However, my pupils have been that big, without changing much, for 12 hours. When someone's pupils don't change with light and such, it's a tad freaky to look at.
The one gift I had today was while I was waiting outside of the clinic for Scott to pick me up. It was a gorgeous day. I could tell because of the warmth of the sun on my arms. There was a lady with a walker going into the office. I could tell by the slow squeak of her wheels as she crossed the street. There was lots of traffic. I could hear the tires on the road's pavement as I stood. I had my eyes closed because it was painful, even with sunglasses on, to be outside with my pupils dilated. Eliminating the vision aspect of me opened up some other senses, particularly hearing, to take a more central place in my perceptions. It was fascinating, and it made me appreciate the vision, though slightly out of focus, that I currently have.
But not enough to cancel the surgery. :)

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Permanent

David Cook is one of my favorite singers. The guy has pipes. Ignatius and I pretty much exclusively listen to his album every morning. When the song "Permanent" comes on, Ignatius asks every day how I think David's brother is doing. Well, sadly, David's brother lost his battle to a brain tumor this week. The following video is of David announcing his brother's passing after completing the Run for Hope in DC. Then, lyrics to the song "Permanent." If you ever have a chance to hear the song in its entirety, do.



Permanent

Is this the moment
where I look you in the eye?
Forgive my
broken promise
that you’ll never see me cry
And everything,
it will surely change
even if I tell you
I won’t go away today
Will you think that you’re all alone
When no one’s there to hold your hand?
And all you know seems so far away
and everything is temporary
rest your head
I’m permanent

I know he’s living in hell
every single day
And so I ask
oh god is there some way
for me to take his place
And when they say
just touch and go
I wish I could make it go away
But still you say

Will you think that you’re all alone
when no one’s there to hold your hand?
When all you know
seems so far away
and everything is temporary,
rest your head
I’m permanent
I’m permanent

Is the moment
where I look you in the eye?
Forgive my promise
that you’ll never see me cry