In September, I took the trek up to Dublin to see how soon I could get the surgery done. Imagine my disappointment when I was told my eyesight was too bad to get normal, run-of-the-mill laser surgery. I was told I would have to get phakic lens implants into my eyes, which would have to be clipped in with microscopic metal clips. After days of contemplating it and even looking up the surgery on youtube to see how bad it is, I decided to take the leap and get it done. Anything would be better than having this kind of eyesight for the rest of my life.
It took the lenses that they would put inside my eyes eight weeks to be made and delivered, so for the last two weeks of the semester one I wasn’t allowed to wear contacts, which I hated having to do. Let me just tell you how much I hate my glasses. They were thinned down as much as they can be and they still look like the bottom of milk bottoms. When I was in national school, my blonde hair didn’t help matters and I gained the nickname the Milkybar Kid, even if I thought I looked more like that kid from Jerry Maguire, if I do say so myself. Last Halloween I stirred things up by donning a cowboy outfit and packets of the white chocolate, just to have a laugh. I started using contacts when I was 15 and never looked back.
Three days before Christmas, I packed my bags to get my right eye done in the Mater Private Hospital. I was under the care of Professor Michael O’Keefe, who has many articles on the internet about eye care and who is regarded internationally as one of the best. I had to pack a nightgown and slippers, as I would be recovering in the hospital for the afternoon, after I wake up from the anaesthetic. I was given more eye drops and forms to fill out than I could count, but following that, I was given my hospital gown and wheeled into the anaesthetic room. After a few minutes of nervous waiting, the nurse put those curious sticky pads on my chest and connected my to a monitor, where I had a good look at my heart rate, naturally not having a clue what it meant.
Then came the nasty little needle the nurse stuck in my hand, so that the other syringes that would undoubtedly follow could just attach onto. The anaesthetist then stuck in an injection to make me happy. It worked. Last thing I remember before going off to the land of sleep is talking utter rubbish about how much I love college and how I’d been having a rough time lately. I told that poor nurse more gossip and feelings than I would tell good friends. I would imagine she was delighted when she could knock me out with the general anaesthetic. Then I fell into a deep sleep.
I woke up a few hours later in the recovery room. The first thing I noticed was the strange feeling in my right eye. It was covered in a few layers of gauze and what felt like anti-bacterial goop. I kept constantly waking up and falling asleep and continued to talk rubbish until I was given tea, toast and a new batch of eyedrops. I was then wheeled upstairs to the eyecare part of the hospital where the bandage was taken off and to my surprise, I could actually see. There were even more drops put in my eye and it was examined. The doctor seemed very happy with the progress, before asking me to read down the dreaded optometrist’s chart. Without any lenses, normally all I could see was a white board; I wouldn’t have even been able to see the outline of the letters. I was overwhelmed to be able to even see the letters, let alone make it down as far as the fourth last line on a very long chart. Who would have ever imagine reading letters would be such a huge novelty?
So, with stitches in my eye and enough eye drops to last me a long time I went home. Two weeks later I returned to get the left eye done, which was a very similar experience. The help and support offered by all the staff in the Mater Private Hospital was fantastic. It’s amazing how calm I remained during the time I spent there. I cannot thank them enough for what they have done for me and how much they have changed my life.
At the time I am writing this, I have a few more visits to the hospital ahead of me, mostly just check-ups, but also to get these pesky stitches out of my eye, but I’m looking forward to it. The days of me being blind and having my eyesight restrict what I do are over. I could not recommend this surgery or the Mater private enough for what they have done. Have no fear of the surgery, just do it and don’t look back. I know I won’t.
