Lasik surgery: 6 hours later, several hours later

We left the house at 9 o'clock. I hated that my husband had to drive me today because he is sick. He drove. We talked little. I tried to doze but couldn't.

15 miles from the doctor's office, I toke my very first ever Valium. It did ease my nerves. Going into the office, there was a sign clearly stated no cell phones turned on because of surgeries scheduled. I made sure I left my phone in the car.

The receptionist said I did not have to sign in. Soon, I was called to make my payment for the surgery and within a few minutes I was called to come to a room.

A technician asked me some questions, gave me a few eye drops, and 600 mg Ibuprofen. She went over my care when I got home. I was then evaluated by the doctor who also put a few drops in my eyes. I was then directed to the operating room.

The room was substantially colder. I shoved my hands in my jacket pockets because of the cold. I consciously kept my hands open and not clinched, but in my pockets.

The doctor told me to watch the red light. It will move but sometimes it will not be visible. He covered my left eye, then he put a suction on my right eye. The suction was the only part of the procedure that was slightly uncomfortable. I think because the pressure around the eye felt weird--not that it was really uncomfortable.

The doctor said I would hear a click. I heard it, but it was meaningless to me. This part of the procedure eventually led to my sight going dark. I must admit this was at least a little disconcerting. I could hear a woman say 15 seconds left. I started counting with 1, 2, 3, etc. I was trying to keep myself calm and my hands unclenched. Then, the same was done to the left eye was done.

The second part of the procedure took a little longer. The suctions were removed from my eye and my bottom and top of my eyelids was taped so I could not close them. Again I looked at the red light. The machine engine started and I heard a clicking. I found this noise somewhat irritating. But, it reminded me that the machine with its programmed technology was making the procedure. I was doing what I could to make myself take my mind off of the situation. I thought that if the machine had made the noise like a dentist drill, I would have freaked. :)

The clicking and the motor were not so bad, just unexpected.Again I heard a woman give us the time left. 45 seconds, 35 seconds, 15 seconds. I again counted starting with 1, 2, etc. Amazing how accurate my counting was. When I reached 44 the machine was at zero.

Between concentrating on the red light and keeping my mind occupied, I forgot that I was cold and the procedure was amazing fast. The left eye was then done.

After the procedure, another doctor evaluated me. He noticed a small bubble on the right eye, but said that was normal and would go away. The left eye was just fine.

Walking out into the lobby I could see much better than I had without my glasses. My eyesight then was a long way from what it needed to be, but was much improved. I was really surprised how good my eyes felt and how well I could see.

I think the drive home made my husband tired. His sickness and the drive were taking a toll on him. I wore the sunglasses gave me. At first, light did not bother me. Thankfully, today was mostly cloudy, but as we drove, the sensitivity to light worsened and my right eye itched. The feeling was if I had scratched my eye.

I was really glad to get home because by then (about 1 hour after we left the doctor’s office), both eyes itched and the sensitivity to light was almost unbearable. I put the eye drops in my eye, taped the funny hole-filled goggles over my eyes, took my second ever Valium, and went to bed. It took me a few minutes to go to sleep, but when I did slept deep. (That Valium is some good stuff.) I slept almost four hours.

When I awoke the sensitivity to light was very mild. I could see even better than before-amazingly better. My vision seemed and still seems cloudy. It has been 12 hours since the surgery and I call see really well. Though my vision is not perfect it is certainly good enough to function. The street and car lights are definitely halos. Hopefully, this will go away...we'll see.

My eyes have a slight itchy feeling and are cloudy. If I were wearing contacts I would take them out clean them and possibly wear my glasses because my eyes . I am now getting ready for bed. I will go through regiment of eyes drops and taping the holey goggles on and going to sleep. I expect to be able to take the kids to school and go to my local eye doctor for a checkup just fine. AND I expect my vision to be better. We’ll see.

Lasik Today

In a bit, I will go to my Lasik surgery. I am a little nervous. I slept better last night than I thought I would. Once I fell asleep, I thankfully slept the night through.

In preparing for surgery, I put 4 different types of eye drops in my eyes four times a day for two days. The drops were mostly antibiotics and moistening drops.

The weird thing is that every time I put the series of drops in my eyes, a few minutes later I had a metal taste in my mouth. I did not understand that.

Fifteen minutes prior to my arrival, I will take a Valium. Though on the surface I look calm, I can feel my nerves kicking in. So the Valium (I have never taken Valium before) will probably relax me a little (hopefully).

Before I leave I am going to wipe my eyes with a moistening cloth. I am wearing no makeup, a couple of loose-fitting tops so I can take them off without rubbing my eyes (when I get home). The technician told me that the room is set for 67 degrees and because I will be a little nervous that I will fell very cool so dress accordingly.

I used no moisturizers or lotions this morning.

I will not take my cell phone into the building because cell phones can be problematic with the equipment.

Tuesday, I told the doctor that I feared not being able to stay still. He explained how the machine maps the eye and some movement is accounted for. (This is my layman's interpretation.), I cannot possibly explain the surgery, but it is absolutely amazing technology.

We'll see how it goes. At the moment I wish I could go back to sleep.

Storm damage

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Originally uploaded by aafromaa

This morning, I awoke to the phone ringing. The power company's automated service told me that the power has been restored. Slowly waking up, I thought "I did not know we were without power."

In the dark across the room, I could barely make out the blurry red flashing lights on the alarm clock. My next thought was "Uh, oh, I guess I missed my workout."

It was 6 o'clock, normally I get up around 4:45, sometimes a little earlier.

Then, I was thankful that Alabama Power repaired our lines (even if I did not know that they were not working). I am also thankfull that they called me. They were definitely my alarm this morning.

Often, I wake up before the alarm. But, it was not surprising I slept through my normal wake up time. My husband woke me up when his body shook with the chills last night. He caught the same nasty bug that everyone else has had. Between going to bed later than normal and his waking me up, I was zonked. The storm obviously had not awaken me.

I took my shower and started breakfast. Walking through the house I glanced out back and saw the tangled mess of the batting cage.

The top of a tree broke. The limbs shattered into pieces after hitting the metal of the batting cage. I am not sure what we will do about fixing the mess.

The youngest was concerned about the cost and how we would fix the cage. Every summer we have enjoyed hosting batting practice for ball teams, particularly the Dixie Youth teams.

Since my husband is sick, we have not talked about what we will do. Watching my youngest face this morning, I am convinced we should repair the damage. She does not want to lose the opportunities and the fun we have enjoyed. And, neither do I.

Exercising after being sick

My last month of exercising has been:
December 22 through Dec 28, I jogged almost every day 3 to 6 miles each day. I did not lift any weights during this time.

December 29 I stopped jogging because the pain in my left leg above my ankle began to ache during my jogging and afterwards. The pain was much like the pain in my right ankle 3 years ago when I developed a stress fracture. I thought it was best to stop jogging for awhile.

January 7, I started back lifting weights and jogging, but I missed a few days for a couple weeks.

January 14, I got sick (stomach kind of thing) that wiped my out. I bench pressed once that week and tried to jog only once. It was slow.

January 20, I felt a little better so I jogged only 2 miles and it was very slow.

January 21, I managed to go to gym and did a variety of weights. During the week, I was so tired, I did not go to the gym, I just did not have the energy to get up early.

January 25, I jogged 2.5 miles at a decent (not great) time.

January 27, I jogged a very slow 3 miles. That is today. I have felt very tired every since.
This morning before getting started, I really did not want to go. I forced myself to get out of the house. It was colder than it looked. The sky was a clear blue and there was no wind. The air was crisp.

I walked for .3 miles and was not sure I had the energy to jog. When I first started jogging, I was in slow motion. My feet felt heavy.

I jogged for more than .5 miles before the stride felt easy. The jogging was similar to when I first starting jogging. Each step seem to be a struggle. I had to talk myself into continuing. I did not think I could even finish the 1st mile. But, I kept my slow pace and set up mini-goals. I kept telling myself, just make it to the 1 mile marker, then make it to the 1.5 mile marker. In my early days of jogging, I would tell myself that the .5 mile in the hardest. the next .5 miles is next to the hardest, and the next 1 mile in the third hardest. I would tell myself, "Go to the next marker, get to it before you stop".

Even at the 2 mile marker, I was not sure I could finish 3 miles. If I could get into a rhythm I could finish. My body was so tired, I just could not keep going.

One marker passed led to the next marker. I finished the jog with 3.1 miles and walked a total 1.2 miles.

I am still tired, but I think I am tired because of lacking of eating. I have lost 4 pounds in the last weeks and I am determined to keep it off so I have reduced the number of calories. What I need to do is to even my eating out throughout the day. I am eating too little before lunch and too much after lunch.

Hopefully, I can get back into the groove and even out my eating habits and get back into lifting weights and jogging.

I want to keep the weight off, but I also want to keep muscle. I have to keep working at it.

Positives List #4

Even though I have felt ill for several days, I am thankful that I have been in good fitness shape. Recovering from this bug I think is easier because I am fit.

Today was one of those extremely busy days, jumping from one responsibility to another. I am glad that our staff are independent and professional staff and they don't need close supervision.

I am thankful for the influence I seem to have at times. I have to admit there are times when I get frustrated with not being able to convince and influence decisions. Then when someone specifically gives me credit that makes my day. I know that this particular individual had been thinking of ways to express herself, to provide her opinions, to write a journal (but not a paper journal), but it was after hearing about blogging that she knew that is what she wanted to do.

She thanked me for bringing knowledge of this opportunity to her. You see I think she knew she had a problem/need, but she did not know the solution. After hearing of blogging, she knew she found a solution. Though she gave me much credit, I think that the knowledge of the solution had much to do about timing as anything. She could have very well learned about blogging from someone else.

Anyway, I am thankful for the situation and having the ability to make a difference. This I cannot overestimate. The relationships with the professional colleagues make an incredible difference.

Positives List #3

Today, I took my daughter to her 4th gymnastics meet. I am very proud of how she has progressed and how she handles herself in competition. When she does not perform or score as well as she thinks she should, she continues the meet, handling the next part of the competition.

I am also thankful she asked questions. Hopefully, she will continue to ask questions as she grows up.

I am also thankful that my older daughter is helping a friend tonight. Her friend has been very sick, and my daughter and other friends have been helping all day.

I am thankful I was able to walk 30 + minutes today while waiting on warm ups at the gymnastics meet. Next time, I will walk more.

I am ready for Monday.

Is there a definition of a workout?

What is a workout? JB defines a workout as:

Brief periods of self induced physical and mental anguish followed by a couple days of muscle soreness.

Well, that is definitely one way to define a workout. I think of a workout as an incremental step in building muscles, building strength, developing endurance, strengthening the heart, and expending calories. (I probably should add becoming more flexible and creating an ability to have balance. I don't work on those aspects too much for the exception of stretching after a workout).

A buddy of mine is exercising in functional ways--using an ax, toting limbs, clearing rubbish is his way of expending calories and building muscles.

When the workout causes the muscles to be sore, I know I have stretched the muscles so that they will tighten and strengthen. Let's admit it. After a leg workout or a run, the tightness in the legs feels great! Don't you think?

It really doesn't matter how you exercise or what your workout is. Expending calories and building endurance can happen almost at anytime. It does not have to be at gym or on the track. Stand instead of sit; walk instead of ride, jog instead of walk, run instead of jog. Do crunches on the couch while watching TV, dance with kids. Move, move move.

Saturday morning jogs

My Saturday morning jogs are never the same. Jogging different routes make the jogging interesting. The only problem is that I never really know how long I jog.

I am thinking that I jogged less than 3 miles (wanting go a little further). Maybe next time I can go further.

Of course, during my week morning jogs, I will go at least 3 miles. Next weekend maybe I can go 5 miles. We'll see.

Positives List #2

I thankful for the time when I find inspiration in blog topics to be discussed. The most important thoughts about these inspiration times is the topics, not how I think of presented them.

Thankful that my daughter is able to contribute to the team that served her all these years.

Thankful she is the responsible type.

Thankful my job gives me interesting things to work on and interesting people to work with.

Positive Thinking

A friend of mine Mitch Owen talks often about thinking positives during times of stress and disasters. He has found Alex Pattakos' book, Prisoners of Our Thoughts guide these thoughts.

I decided to start a positive list. On a regular basis, I will list positives as they happen. By practicing listing the positives during non stressful times, I will become better at thinking of the positives during the stressful times.

1) Today, we have a marvelously fun time talking among my husband's family today during our Christmas gathering.

2) In emails referring to three different meetings.

...your presentation was informative and very helpful, as always. If only the rest had been as upbeat and helpful!

Your meeting with Charles and me was inspiring, to say the least. ... I really would like for us to start working on some of your creative ideas.

This is a great idea (from 4 individuals).

I would not use the adjectives, upbeat, inspiring or creative to describe myself. Nevertheless, I am very much appreciative of these emails and they serve as encouragement to keep working on these "new areas".

3) My youngest helped me for hours yesterday, preparing food for today's family gathering. It was great to see her endurance and great fun to be with her.

4) My oldest and I had a "conversation" yesterday that we needed to.

5) I was reminded as long as I am doing the right thing, then I can't worry about things that go on around me.

6) My husband's family in 2007 had 4 decade birthday's: 80, 60, 50, 40. So very grateful that they all came to our house today.