Today marks a personal anniversary for me. Four years ago today I underwent lasik surgery to correct my vision.
For one whose extreme near-sight needed artificial correction for more than 40 years, lasik is nothing short of a modern day miracle. To see well unaided is a blessing! And, as we prepared at that time to embark on our current semi-subsistence homestead lifestyle, it seemed a necessity. By investing in sight correction, four years ago today for me, the next summer for Michelle, we not only eliminated the cost of contacts, glasses, and supplies, but we improved our chances on the homestead. No more grabbing for glasses in an emergency, or risk of losing a contact at a bad moment; no more fogging up when entering a warm cabin from the cold; no more risk of losing glasses overboard. Besides which, because of the advanced diagnostic equipment used to pinpoint our best correction, both of us are enjoying sharper vision than we’d ever experienced before. We have been able to spot wildlife far better than we could before. The corrective surgery has been a small but significant step toward greater self-sufficiency.
We read the horror stories and weighed the risks of undergoing the surgery. Our research indicates that lasik isn’t for everyone. I haven’t regretted it for a moment since the operation. Perhaps one regret: the longer I waited, the more advanced the technology became. In fact, the day I had the surgery, the clinic where I had it done received permission to begin performing the newest procedure, which would have provided me even better correction than the one performed on me. They told me that even with permission, they wouldn’t be performing the new procedure for at least a year, because they wanted to perfect the technique. I had my opportunity, and I took it. Even if the correction isn’t technically perfect, it is, as I said, so far above what I’d ever experienced before that it hardly matters.
The funny thing about the operation is that they constantly stressed that it would not correct presbyopia, the loss of near vision we experience as we age, which leads to needing bifocals or reading glasses. I had been using reading glasses occasionally before the procedure. After my eyes healed, I found that I actually didn’t need them! The procedure had, in fact, corrected my presbyopia for a while. About a year later, as it progressed, it seemed to “catch up” with the surgery, and I now use reading glasses occasionally as before.
If you have poor vision, I highly recommend you look into this procedure. It may not be for you, but if it is, you’ll be amazed by the positive change it can make in your life!