05/19/2009
One of the major search results that bring people to my corner of the interwebs is “PRK recovery.” While that is far from what this blog is generally about, that is something that I blogged about when my wife had PRK surgery about a year ago. I still remember all of the emotions that happened leading up to the procedure and especially during the longer-than-expected recovery time. We wondered if we had made a huge mistake–if she was going to recover or if her practically blind condition was going to be permanent. We searched the web for anyone else’s experience to compare notes and hopefully get some kind of reassurance that things might just turn out OK.
Well, it’s been a long time since my last update on Rebekah’s PRK eye surgery and that is because we haven’t really had to think about it in a long time. Rebekah still doesn’t have 20/20 vision (I think it’s about 20/25) but it is definitely good enough for her to feel good about having the procedure. As I said, it was a long and painful recovery process (much harder than we expected), but it ended up being well worth the time and pain. She still uses eye drops daily (usually in the morning but sometimes in the evening as well), but the dryness has been the only real side-effect. Overall it has been much better than the days when she had to wear hard contact lenses or glasses… although I do kind of miss how she looks in glasses.
(Maybe that wasn’t the best picture to post publicly.)
You can read the rest of the recovery saga here:
04/27/2008
It’s been almost a month and a half plus too many eye drops to count since Rebekah’s PRK surgery. She has been feeling fine for quite a while, but her vision is still far from 20/20. Clear vision comes and goes and distance is always blurry. At Panera this afternoon she had to get out of line and walk closer to the counter to read the menu while I could read it with no problem.
We still have hope that this is all just part of a slow recovery process, but Rebekah is honestly a little worried. We have another appointment in a little over a week. We will have to wait and see what the doctors say at that time.
UPDATE: You can read more about Rebekah’s recovery here:
03/30/2008
Well, it’s been three days since Rebekah had PRK surgery. Since the surgery she hasn’t been able to open her eyes for more than about 2 seconds. It’s not that they hurt too bad, she said that is was more like she had something in her eye and so it just forced her to keep it closed. I’ve been leading her around our apartment and trying to keep her from bumping into things (though she did happen to find the bathroom door with her forehead yesterday… I wasn’t leading that time so I take no blame).
This morning she woke up and opened her eyes without that sensation. She still can’t focus on anything when she opens them so she is keeping them shut most of the time. I’m sure the protective contact lenses in her eyes are to blame for the blurry vision (at least somewhat), so hopefully on Tuesday when those come out things will change dramatically.
She has been pretty light-sensative so we covered the windows with sheets, she has been covering her face with a washcloth any time the TV is on, and she hasn’t even seriously thought about going outside yet. Plus she gets to wear these hott shades.
The hardest part of this recovery so far has been the timeframe. We did not go into this thinking we were giving up our lives for the next four days (and counting), but that is exactly what has happened. She cannot work at all. I can work some, but honestly she is my priority and so I am limited in what I can really do. (I’m glad we both have jobs that can allow for this somewhat abrupt absence.) After the first couple of days being stuck in the house I think she is going a little stir crazy. She has been able to knit, amazingly. I mean, I can’t even knit with my eyes open and she made this wash cloth with her eyes shut. Amazing.
Anyway, I will keep everyone posted. Hopefully the recovery will move quicker from here. We are both definitely ready to get back to our normal life together.
UPDATE: You can read more about Rebekah’s recovery here:
03/27/2008
This morning Rebekah had LASIK.
Actually she had PRK. It apparently hurts really bad… at least that’s what she tells me. I hope it’s all worth it.
EDIT: Why “Week of procedures?” Well, I had dental work done earlier this week. I know that two things probably doesn’t sound like much but it is for us.
UPDATE: You can read more about Rebekah’s recovery here:
