24 hours later...

By this time yesterday I was at home and in bed - out like a light. Let's just say that the Valium and the sleeping pill really did the trick. :)

So, here's how things went down:
Adam and I arrived at Boling Vision Center at 8:40am and I was nervous. They immediately took me back to a room and gave me the Valium. Thank you very much. Asked me some questions, gave me more eye drops, and then took me to another room where I got to watch Regis and Kelly for a few minutes. Put on one of those cool blue medical-type hair net things - sweet. From there they took me to another room that was dimly lit and I was told to sit in a chair in the corner. There was a man sitting in the exam chair in the middle of the room who had just finished his procedure. He was still alive and seemed unharmed - good sign. More eye drops (for me), including the ones to numb my eyes (very important!). Dr. Boling came in and examined the man, then asked us to switch chairs. I had to look into a bright light and he wrote (with a permanent marker?) on the surface of my eye to "mark the angle of treatment." Weird, but ok. Can't feel it anyway. Another minute later the nurse was walking me into the laser treatment room (me: "are you sure the Valium is working yet - maybe I need another few minutes...?") At this point I'm without my glasses, so I can't really see much, except for large pieces of equipment and a couple of random guys...

They had me lay down on the bed thing and that's when I came face-to-face with Howard, the guy who did my 3 hour battery of exams on Monday. Nice to see a friendly face. After that I didn't see a whole lot except for some flashing lights, bright white lights, or nothing at all. The best part of it was that it was incredibly fast. I was probably out of that room in 5-10 minutes. For the Intralase (cutting laser), they actually pushed some type of ring down onto my eyeball (at lease that's what it felt like) and then I couldn't see anything at all. Didn't feel anything either - they had to actually tell me that the laser was working! When the first eye was done, I could close it while they did the other eye - only about 30 seconds for each one. It really helped that one of the faceless men actually counted down so I knew exactly how long it was going to take. After they finished that part on both eyes, the spun the bed about 30 degrees to the side and got me lined up with the treatment laser. They propped one eye open (which actually didn't bother me near as much as I thought it would) and the used something to pull the corneal flap up, but I couldn't feel it because my eyes were completely numb (not tingly, just can't feel anything). Through that whole part I just had to work to focus on a red flashing light. Then the laser went to work - it makes a loud clicking noise, and I won't lie - there's a smell. The laser was obviously burning something. Ick. But again, the faceless man was counting and it was less than 30 seconds before it was done. Then they rinsed my eye with a bunch of liquid (saline, I'm assuming) and brushed it a few times with something soft and cold, like a paintbrush - I think to get the flap back in place where it belonged. Then they repeated the whole thing with the other eye and I was done! They did put some contact lenses on my eyes to help with light-sensitivity since I'm "fair-skinned and light-eyed," but they weren't any prescription. When I sat up from the bed I could read the clock on the opposite wall!! Cloudy, yes, but I could read it!

They led me to a very dark room where I sat with my eyes closed for 15 minutes or so (almost fell asleep). Then I got to go back to the exam room for Dr. Boling to check things out. He said things looked perfect and that he'd see me in 24 hours for my check-up. The nurse taped my protective goggles (or giant bug-eye lenses, as I like to call them) to my face and led me out to the waiting area to find Adam. My eyes were REALLY light sensitive at first, so she also put a pair of sunglasses over the giant goggles, which I found hysterical (I think the Valium was finally kicking in at this point). Adam took me down to the car, I took my sleeping pill, and I was OUT about halfway home. Or maybe sooner. I don't remember much - except that I could read - clearly - the carwash sign on Main Street! Adam woke me up when we got home, I walked straight upstairs and fell into bed and got up again around 6pm. Nice.

I had to wear the goggles for the rest of the day, and I'll have to wear them to sleep for a week, to keep any pressure off my eyes. I also can't rub or touch my eyes at all. Don't want that flap falling back out of place! With my near-constant regimen of eye drops, I'm good to go. The reading ban was lifted this morning, so here I am!