Thursday, January 8, 2009

It's all about the Fine Print!




I finally got Mr. Finn on board for getting my eyes fixed.  By LAZIK surgery!  He was/is afraid I will go blind.  Completely RATIONAL, I know!?!  I was pretty excited until I realized that I will have to have "cheaters" to read for the rest of my life.  I thought that wasn't a big deal as I have to take my glasses off to read now.

And then, I started paying attention to how much I read during the day.  It could get a bit frustrating to have to look for glasses to read the little things.  Labels on bottles, etc. 

It brought to mind a memory I have about my Grandma Laverne.  She always had big magnifying glasses laying all over the place.  Now I get why they were there, so she could read all that fine print.  I wish she were here so I could ask her if that was annoying.  I'm sure she would say it was just the way it was.  She was this funny, crazy little lady with tons of spunk.  She passed away over 20 years ago on Christmas Day.  I miss her! 

It brings to mind another story about her or maybe just a factual one.  She used to dye her hair auburn.  I don't think I ever saw her gray!  A woman after my own heart!  LOL  Anyways, Grandpa had a culdesac (you all know what I am talking about.) so after she was done with her hair, she would throw the rest on his hair and his eyebrows.  I remember visiting right after it had been done and was talking to Grandpa.  I couldn't help but notice the dye job, it really accentuated the eyebrows and his lack of hair.  The only thing I could think of to say was, "So, Grandma dyed her hair today?"  He gave me the funniest look and said "Yup!".  He never had much to say, I wonder what he was thinking.  

If he were a woman, it would have been thoughts of "Oh No! Does it look that bad?"  "What does she mean by that?"  We are so neurotic I think.

Back to the subject at hand.  Because I should be wearing bifocals at this stage in my life it changes the way I can have my eyes fixed.  They can be done differently so I can see both ways, but it can cause nausea and lack of balance.  You basically have to use one eye to see far away and one to see up close.  It can take a while for your eyes to adjust, but some never get used to it.  The other option which I spoke of earlier, makes them so I can see long distance and use cheaters to read.

I want to be able to enjoy this time while my kids are little, swimming, biking and playing with them without the hassle of glasses.  Is it worth the other?  Anybody have any experiences they would like to share.  I have a couple of months until it will happen, so all thoughts are welcome.

9 comments:

Kelley said...

I have to laugh at Jon sometimes because he's starting to complain about not being able to read things anymore. I shouldn't because I'll be there, too, someday.

Glasses/contacts can be a pain, but I think having my eyes see two different things would be worse. Good luck.

Wiltbank Family said...

Hey Robin My sister had it done and she loves it! I have never had to wear glasses but I have found out that I do need cheaters. Bart wears contacts and he still has to use cheaters when he works on something close-up. So I guess we all need the cheaters at some point. We're all in the same boat as far as that goes. I say DO IT!!
Rachel

Anonymous said...

Hi Robin! I was going to get mine done too. I went and had the preliminary tests done and found out that my corneas were just above the thickness that they needed to be to get the surgery done. Of course, they told me about all the risks which scared the peeoodle out of me. But I had a revelation when I walked out of there - and this doesn't happen to me very often, but I had the distinct impression that I shouldn't get it done. I prayed about it and got the same answer - very strongly. So for me, it wasn't the right decision and I'll have to suffer with glasses for the rest of my life. I just have an astigmatism, so it's probably not as bad as yours, or as irritating but that's just my experience. Long story short, pray about it! :-) Love ya, Missy

grandmadebbie said...

Robin, I have the feeling to just till you that I love you and the sweet mom that you have become. Thank you for all the sweet coments that you give me your the best.I loved your grandparents and also remember some good stories. But the dye was the best.. Saw him so many times with a bread sack on his head while the dye was working.lol It was great.. Love you

Brian and Leilani said...

Well in my semi-professional opinion....okay very very semi 6 month professional opinion. Most of the patients I worked with went with the cheaters. They were just so happy that they could see most of the time without glasses that they didn't mind using them. Not many chose to do the eyes differently. I know one of the doctor's I worked with had his done that way and he was fine.

Although just remember that one day you're going to get cataracts and have to have surgery again and then you'll have to make this decision again!

Don't know if that helped any, probably not. Guess it's good I got out of that profession. :p

SwedenMissionaryMom said...

Robin-Roy said the doctor he talked to about having this done said that he would give the patient a "far sighted and nearsighted" contact so they could see if that option was good for them before they had the surgery. You could check into that. For what it's worth my old boss at my last job had the near and far contacts. She was a horrible person to work for, but I don't think it was because of the contacts. They seemed to work well for her.

Shannon said...

No experience here, but let me know what you are doing and I will say a prayer that it all works out. :)

Anonymous said...

I had lazik and love it. Here's my experience with reading glasses. Most eye conditions don't respond to exercises BUT older eyes needing reading glasses do. Your eyes are getting weak and inflexible. And guess what. Exercises strengthen weak inflexible eyes.

When I use my handy chart found on one of the links at this site
http://www.cam.org/~rsilver/presben.htm
I don't need my reading glasses. When I get lazy I do. I use a +1. That's the lowest level you can get.

Enid said...

I have had cataracts removed off both eyes and it did correct my vision. Before I wore contacts and cheaters now just cheaters. I am thankful I can see. Do what will work for you. Love you lots.
Enid