A few people have been texting me asking how my procedure was and how recovery's going so I'd figure I'd just write a quick little update.
Friday I left work early with my mom and got to the Dr.'s office. The procedure itself was REALLY fast--maybe 15 minutes tops. I was awake the whole time, no Xanax or anything. They gave me a little teddy bear to hold onto. I almost decapitated it because I was terrified that if I moved slightly, that the laser would mess up my eyes!
The worst part for me was at the beginning when they put this suction cup thing on the eye so they can create the flap in the cornea. My vision blacked out during that and I felt a lot of pressure. The laser part wasn't bad but it was a little freaky since it crackles, and I was able to smell my eye burning(?) afterwards. You focus on a blinking red light and then when it powers up it's like there's lightning circling around the blinking light.
At my post-op appointment yesterday they had me read the Snellen chart and I have 20/20! I am SO freaking excited! What's been hard for me is the fact that I'm so used to automatically holding papers and things close to my face in order to read them, so now when I do it, it's blurry. I have to totally reverse 20 years of poor-vision habits. I drove last night to NJ for a wrestling show with my friends (I didn't realize it was the same weekend as my surgery). It was a little harrowing at times but I was able to drive straight and stuff. My eyes just felt tired after a while.
For the next week I have to put two types of eye drops in every four hours and sleep with this flexible goggle thing and wear sunglasses when I go outside. One of my eyedrops I can't stand--its a suspension and it's white and I can taste it in my mouth and the back of my throat after I administer it. :(
I think I'm still in shock at not having to put glasses on my face or put in contact lenses to see. My eyes are dry but they don't feel too bad--kinda like you have a pair of contacts in for too long. Now I need to figure out what the hell to do with all my glasses and contact supplies! :-P
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Countdown.
Starting weight: 188.0
Current weight: 174.3
Goal weight: ~140.0
First off, holy crap. I didn't realize I lost that much weight. I feel lighter but not that much. I think I may need to get a new scale because when I first stepped on it it said 170.4 and I gasped. I stepped on it 3 more times and I got 174.3. Maybe it was just trying to fool me :P it is really nice to see my hard work is paying off. I just need to start adding more protein to my diet because I am TIRED all the time. I find that I'm more flexible and that I don't get fatigued as easily during workouts. Doing DDP Yoga on the days I'm not boxing has really been a huge help.
I am excited because I've been wearing glasses since I was about 5 years old. I've been wanting this surgery since I was like 7 when I first heard about it. I am SO ready to be glasses-free!
I'm nervous because I'm not looking forward to the post-op period. My friend Misfit Librarian recently had the procedure done and reading about her's and others' experience during recovery does not sound fun to me. I'm not looking forward to not being able to drive at night for a little while either.
I'm terrified because it is a surgical procedure and things can go wrong and there can always be complications. And especially because it's on my eyes, it's not something I really want to mess around with. But the fact of the matter is, if I want to have a shot at being an LEO, I need to get my eyes fixed.
But I know everything will be fine. What's going to suck is my friend KJ is coming to visit next weekend and she's staying with me. When I scheduled my surgery, I didn't realize it was the day before we're supposed to go to NJ for the Pro- Wrestling Syndicate show. We're also going to Queens that afternoon to meet Bret Hart. I can probably drive that afternoon but she's going to have to drive to Jersey because I know I won't be able to drive home at night.
Tonight I'm (hopefully) going to NYWC if it doesn't snow too hard. We'll see.
Happy Saturday!
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Aye Eye.
I scheduled a consultation appointment for LASIK for Thursday evening.
I'm incredibly excited. I've wanted this operation since middle school when I first heard about it. I've been wearing glasses since I was about 5 years old. I am the only one in my family who's ever needed glasses so young, besides my aunt who was born deaf and with Usher Syndrome.
I am incredibly nervous too. Because my vision has always been so impaired, I've always been incredibly sensitive when it comes to taking care of my eyes. I am absolutely petrified of having this operation because if there's complications, it's my vision. I can't imagine living a live where I can't see (well, less than I already can). But no matter how nervous I am, if I want to go into the law enforcement field, I have to get it done because my eyesight is too poor to pass any vision test they will give.
In other news, I'm about 99% sure that I passed my physical fitness exam for Customs & Border Protection on Monday! I took the day off from work (well, I "worked from home" so I still got paid), and headed down to one of the hangers at JFK. I was there for about 2 hours. Their vision test was very basic and I was wearing my contact lenses, so I'll probably be getting a letter shortly, stating that I need to have an independent eye exam and send them the results. But anyway, I had a vision test, a hearing test, then an EKG with a basic physical. When the doctor came in to read the EKG she asked me, "Wow, you exercise often don't you?" And I replied, "Well like 2 - 3 days a week." "High intensity?" "Yes, for an hour each session." She goes, "I can tell. You have a low resting heart rate." I was really happy when I heard that!
Then came the physical fitness test. The room I was in was actually a physical therapy room, and there were two people there receiving their treatments. They were nice. The first section was push ups--the one exercise that I have a lot of trouble doing. I've never had a lot of upper body strength, and since I weigh on the closer side to 200 lbs., I obviously can't support my body weight with my upper body. So these are difficult for me. I was really afraid I was going to fail this section. I needed a minimum of 12 to pass, and I cranked out 20! I couldn't believe it! Then came sits ups and I passed that. Then there was a "lift/lower" test where I had to pick up a crate with 50 lbs. of weight in it off the floor and set it on the table a total of 8 times. I did that with ease. Then came the agility part where I had to side touch three separate taped lines on the floor. It's hard to explain but I basically had to shuffle side-to-side without turning my torso. It reminded of the exercises the football team would do in high school. Thankfully, I do this sort of "shuffle" in kickboxing every week so I aced that.
And then FINALLY, it was the dreaded "Step test." For five minutes straight, I had to step up onto and down off of an exercise step at the rate of 120 bpm. That's about a light jogging pace. There first two and a half minutes went fine. Then my legs started cramping. The next minute and a half was TORTURE. I was almost crying and I actually started yelling to myself, "C'mon! Keep going!" The patients in the room with me were cheering me on too! I pushed hard through the last 30 seconds and finished strong. I was so happy I passed! After my leg stopped feeling like jelly, I went downstairs and called my mom and Kerstin. I get an official letter in the mail in about 3 - 4 weeks but I am sure that I did it!
I'm incredibly excited. I've wanted this operation since middle school when I first heard about it. I've been wearing glasses since I was about 5 years old. I am the only one in my family who's ever needed glasses so young, besides my aunt who was born deaf and with Usher Syndrome.
I am incredibly nervous too. Because my vision has always been so impaired, I've always been incredibly sensitive when it comes to taking care of my eyes. I am absolutely petrified of having this operation because if there's complications, it's my vision. I can't imagine living a live where I can't see (well, less than I already can). But no matter how nervous I am, if I want to go into the law enforcement field, I have to get it done because my eyesight is too poor to pass any vision test they will give.
In other news, I'm about 99% sure that I passed my physical fitness exam for Customs & Border Protection on Monday! I took the day off from work (well, I "worked from home" so I still got paid), and headed down to one of the hangers at JFK. I was there for about 2 hours. Their vision test was very basic and I was wearing my contact lenses, so I'll probably be getting a letter shortly, stating that I need to have an independent eye exam and send them the results. But anyway, I had a vision test, a hearing test, then an EKG with a basic physical. When the doctor came in to read the EKG she asked me, "Wow, you exercise often don't you?" And I replied, "Well like 2 - 3 days a week." "High intensity?" "Yes, for an hour each session." She goes, "I can tell. You have a low resting heart rate." I was really happy when I heard that!
Then came the physical fitness test. The room I was in was actually a physical therapy room, and there were two people there receiving their treatments. They were nice. The first section was push ups--the one exercise that I have a lot of trouble doing. I've never had a lot of upper body strength, and since I weigh on the closer side to 200 lbs., I obviously can't support my body weight with my upper body. So these are difficult for me. I was really afraid I was going to fail this section. I needed a minimum of 12 to pass, and I cranked out 20! I couldn't believe it! Then came sits ups and I passed that. Then there was a "lift/lower" test where I had to pick up a crate with 50 lbs. of weight in it off the floor and set it on the table a total of 8 times. I did that with ease. Then came the agility part where I had to side touch three separate taped lines on the floor. It's hard to explain but I basically had to shuffle side-to-side without turning my torso. It reminded of the exercises the football team would do in high school. Thankfully, I do this sort of "shuffle" in kickboxing every week so I aced that.
And then FINALLY, it was the dreaded "Step test." For five minutes straight, I had to step up onto and down off of an exercise step at the rate of 120 bpm. That's about a light jogging pace. There first two and a half minutes went fine. Then my legs started cramping. The next minute and a half was TORTURE. I was almost crying and I actually started yelling to myself, "C'mon! Keep going!" The patients in the room with me were cheering me on too! I pushed hard through the last 30 seconds and finished strong. I was so happy I passed! After my leg stopped feeling like jelly, I went downstairs and called my mom and Kerstin. I get an official letter in the mail in about 3 - 4 weeks but I am sure that I did it!
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