Eyes That See

Since last Wednesday I have been wearing glasses.  This is a requirement for anyone undergoing LASIK eye surgery who also wears contacts.  The week before your surgery you must go without your contacts.  I know that the Vision Professionals have you do this because contacts can affect the shape of your eye, but I am now convinced that they also do it to ensure you are completely and 100% dying to have the surgery.  Contacts were relatively convenient.  Glasses.... suck.  Any doubt I had has quickly been replaced by the wish to never have to wear anything other than sunglasses ever again.  Well, at least until my mid-forties.

For someone like me whose glasses only serve as a substitute to prevent bumping into furniture when making my way from the bathroom to the bed at night, or to provide relief from irritated eyes when allergies or (God forbid) conjunctivitis comes to call, this was far more of a test than I had expected.  For almost a week now I have felt (dramatically) like an invalid.  I haven't worn makeup, fixed my hair, and honestly, I've hardly put on real clothing.  To be painfully honest, I've barely left the house.  This is somewhat easy to accomplish since I'm now (by choice) unemployed, and most of my work does not require me to go anywhere, but still very unusual for me.

The practical side of this complaint is that I'm not used to glasses.  They make me feel disoriented, sleepy, even at times sort of nauseous.  My perspective is affected, my night vision scarily worsened, and they aren't a pair meant for constant wear so they fall off my face continually.  In a very very very very very small way, this week I have had to face my handicap.  Oh, please don't think I'm comparing myself to an amputee or a hearing-impaired individual.  Never would I dare.  But the very few times I have purposefully tried to find my way around my own house without any type of corrective lenses was almost terrifying.  Trying to locate a "lost" iphone in my own house without vision assistance is certainly pointless.  What if there was a fire?  Or a strange man in my bed?  I wouldn't know the difference!  

Just kidding.

My contacts have amazingly over the years allowed me to sidestep a handicap that at another point in history would have been untreatable and possibly crippling.  Now LASIK will be giving me a permanent solution.  I'm trying to prepare myself for the surreal experience of waking up from a nap and being able to see clearly without having to go "put my eyes in."  I'm beginning to realize how excited I am, how many things I can do and enjoy now that I mightn't have before.

Can we all just revel in the wonder of science and medicine for a moment?

I am.

I am also a teeny bit scared.  

I will squeeze that damn teddy bear they give you until its stuffing shoots out.