As you may have heard from me over the years, glasses/contacts really annoy me. I remember when I was first told that I needed glasses at age 8--I ate only carrots for about two weeks, hoping that my eyes would miraculously improve and I could forgo the glasses. Unfortunately, the eye-health properties of carrots may be somewhat overrated, so a week after my initial eye exam, I was fitted for my first pair of glasses. At first, my prescription was pretty low so I tried to get away with not wearing the glasses. I was finally convinced that I really needed them when I went on a road trip with some other kids in my class. We played "the alphabet game" to pass the time, and I didn't manage to get one letter in the whole 2-hour drive. After that, I finally accepted the sad truth that I would be wearing glasses for the rest of my life.
I did think I caught a break in 7th grade when my optometrist cleared me for wearing contacts. I was excited at first, but I quickly learned that contacts weren't necessarily better than glasses. Apparently, my eyes are actually smaller in size than average, and I have a tendency towards dry eyes. These two things combined make it difficult to keep contacts in my eyes, especially after a long day or during dry weather. It definitely got annoying losing and throwing out so many ripped contacts--I could almost see my money going down the drain with them. I was pretty much resigned to the fact that I'd be dealing with annoying glasses and contacts forever.
Ever since I learned of its existence, I've wanted to get LASIK surgery. I looked into a little bit when I heard about it in high school, but put it on the back burner when I learned that the average cost is over $2,000 per eye. I also heard that some of the most common side effects are dry eyes and halos at night, problems that I already dealt with and certainly didn't want to make any worse. I once again resigned myself to the fact that it would probably never actually happen, and did my best to make the most of life with contacts. Every couple of years I would re-check prices and side effects, but they didn't change much.
Then, in November 2012 on a whim, I emailed the vision center at Gundersen Lutheran to get some more information. I knew that I would only be in La Crosse for a little over three weeks, and really didn't expect much more than the generic FAQ answers that I usually find on the internet. But I sent my schedule anyway, just to see. The very next day I received a reply from Dianne, telling me that they had a space open for the surgery if I could come in on the certain days that they reserved for me. She also needed a decision quickly, so that she could give the appointment times to someone else if I didn't want them. I was shocked--I hardly expected a response at all, much less the offer for surgery in only a couple weeks! Plus, I was nearing the end of my tenure in Chile, so wouldn't have the income to pay for the expensive surgery.
I immediately called my parents and told them about it. They were very supportive, and encouraged me to go for it! They even offered to loan me some money so that I could pay for it all at once (and not accrue interest on making payments). Even still, I was a bit hesitant to reply, thinking about all the possible side effects that I'd heard about it. I spent a couple days gathering stories from friends who had had it done, and the overwhelming consensus was that I should go for it. So, I sent an email to Dianne letting her know that I would come in for the consult on December 28. That's when I really started to get nervous. One word of advice: NEVER Google videos of the surgery you are about to have, no matter how strong of a stomach you think you have!
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