Monday, January 31, 2011

the blind will see

For twenty years, this was me.

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Well, I'd like to think that most of the time I looked better than that (black is NOT my color).  But see those suckers on my face?  Never far from me and for the last ten years almost always on the bridge of my nose.

I was very farsighted (+3.75 if you care to know).

Ten years ago, my beloved had his very nearsighted eyes fixed with the magic of Las!k, but unfortunately at that time the technology to fix farsighted eyes didn't exist.  AND, I was just beginning my child-birthing years when those pesky hormones continued to affect my eyesight.

2011 was to be my year.  My baby is three and a half and I've managed not to get pregnant again (whew!).  After a free consult and carefully planning putting the additional $3,300 into our flexible spending account for this year - coincidentally the final year that we'll be allowed to have more than $2,500 in our flexible spending account thanks to the government healthcare changes - I made my appointment for surgery!

I counted down the days as I reached for my glasses each morning before my feet even hit the floor.

The day arrived and I was ready!  Squirt was just ready to eat all the free Or#o cookies (for breakfast) at the surgery center.

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The procedure itself was much more physically taxing than I thought it would be.  After all, I had watched Kenyon go through it ten years ago and he breezed through it and was up and running the next day.

He is a bad a$$ though.

Still, I thought after four natural childbirths that this would be no sweat.  Apparently, I have quite small eye sockets and the amount of pressure that had to be put on my eyes to get the equipment in place was immense.

Beyond that, I didn't feel anything from the actual laser.  After about 10 minutes per eye, I was sitting up looking at my surgeon face to face.  She said that my distance vision (previously my best) would not be as sharp for a few weeks, but after the swelling goes down, I should see everything just fine.

I asked her if I should put my glasses on if I was struggling to see during the healing process.  Her response stands out in my memory, "Your glasses won't work anymore.  If you put them on they will feel like they were made for someone else."

A few days later, I tested her answer and she was RIGHT!"  It was so weird to put on my glasses that I wore every day and not be able to see a single thing through them.

The recovery process has been exactly as she described as well.  The first day - not fun.  The first week - variable.  The second week - mild discomfort due to prolonged corneal swelling, but getting better.  And through it all, I can see!

Here I am in the car post surgery waiting while my beloved went in a restaurant to buy me lunch to go - the sweet part was that he actually offered to sit in the restaurant and eat with me with these taped to my face.  I think he loves me. :-)P1030072

Sauce says, "That freaks me out!"  The Las!k love bites (looks bad, but didn't hurt) that have already healed.  I thought I looked like a battered wife though. 
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I can see!  I'm reading books to my boys, reading stuff on the computer, texting on my phone, reading labels, and plucking my eyebrows ALL CLEARLY!!!

Money well spent.  I had a check up two weeks after the surgery and could read the 20/15 line on the eye chart.  I'd say a good result and I'm not even completely healed yet!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

clogger

When you live in a houseful of boys, you will talk more about bodily functions than you ever thought was possible.

This year, Sauce coined the term "clogger." Need I explain?

I didn't think so.

For the last several months my brain has had a clogger.  I knew it was bad when I overheard my in-laws say to my beloved that I quit blogging altogether.

Not so in my head.  Just so on the screen.

Let me tell you the thought process I have been struggling with:  The school year started in a whirlwind and I found that my schedule was busier than I thought.  Much to my surprise, there was no time to get pedicures, eat bon bons, watch soap operas, or read romance novels.  Forget keeping a clean kitchen too.

Sure, I have more time to myself, but it is in VERY small chunks, and my running around meeting buses, volunteering in classes, and squeezing in errands (these pesky men still want to eat - the nerve!) dominates that time.

When some time had passed and I realized that I missed blogging about Halloween, Thanksgiving, our gaggle of visitors, and even Christmas, I felt like, "WTF" (no I would never say that!) "Where do I start?"

There are so many great things going on in our lives right now.  I am just having a clogger in getting back in the rhythm of telling them.  So, for the month of February, I'm going to work to get back into the habit of telling our stories.  And if that habit sticks, I'll be back for good.

You can thank this chick for kicking me into gear.  She is a real writer - go see her stuff and get ready to laugh.  (Are you happy now Nat?)

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