You're thinking, "Enough grousing about your job search already!" Well, I agree. I'll grouse about something entirely different.
My vision is so bad that my first criteria for a good doctor is one that doesn't scream, "Wow! You really can't see!" upon finding out my prescription. It can still be corrected with contacts, I'm glad to say.
Don't worry - this isn't what I'm complaining about. I'm blessed- I'm well aware that if God had dropped me and my faulty eyeballs on Earth, say, during Medieval times I would have been a drain on society. [The urge to write about my "transitional period" arose, but after a healthy swig of wine it passed.] Sure, these days vision impaired folks can live a full life, but back then I would have been S.O.L.
The point is, I'm considering LASIK surgery, and I'm as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I'm not into elective surgery in most cases, but this is interesting. However, they do CUT OPEN YOUR EYEBALL AND SHOOT A LASER INTO IT.
I watched an online video that explains the procedure, which was cool. A few sections of the monologue stuck out in my mind, though:
"It's natural to have a certain amount of apprehension." -- Yeah, especially for sci-fi fans.
"Don't worry, [?!] things will get fuzzy and may go black for a moment."
"You may be offered a mild sedative like Valium to calm you down." -- I'll take two, thanks. One for now and one in case my vision gets fuzzy and goes black!
Number of "loss of vision" mentions - 5
Number of "blindness" mentions - 1
On the positive side, Tiger Woods did it, which says a lot. Plus, many regular people have had positive results. But, I can't help wondering if I'm being too greedy. Medical science has given me twenty-two years of corrected vision with no more hassle than changing contacts. Sure, the surgery has a very high success rate, but is it worth risking that one percent?
What do you think? Does LASIK's high success rate balance out the small number of failures? Do you think Tiger Woods' surgeon snuck a couple Valium for personal use the night before that surgery?
4 comments:
You're a much braver person than me. I watch and read too much science fiction too let people shoot lasers at any part of me.
I'm not scared of the possibility of blindness. I'm just too weirded out by the whole peeling back part of your eye thing. I can't get over it.
If it helps any, I have thought about it too. I'm just not sure as to wether they can do my astigmatisms any good. Like you say, mine has been corrected with glasses and contacts for the last 25 years. If I can't get complete success, I can't see any real benefit. If it can ELIMINATE the need for glasses and/or contacts, then it might be worth it. If not, the only one that benefits is the doctor.
Considering the state of your current vision, at some point it might not be correctable anymore...just my two cents...
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