i can see!!!! muahahahahha.

hello?


HELLO!!! i'm back!!! (with near perfect eyesight.. muahahahaha~)

i was still blind as a bat 2 days ago. 45 minutes in, out. viola~! i can see what's written on that red and yellow banner at the junction 20m from my balcony. i can read the tag - [fashion centre], on my sister's SIA uniform hanging behind the door (btw, it's hanging there forever.) i can watch TV and see the subtitles without specs/contact lens/squirming my eyes. muahahahahahaha.

a whole new world awaits.

went back for my checkup today and doctor lee says she's giving me bonus for my eyes are recovering faster than expected. well done!! gotta make another trip down to OPTIMAX (where i got my eyes done) for my 2nd checkup next week. this is exhilarating!!

my true bonus: shopping spree each time we enter malaysia. (haha. ok. actually not much of a shopping "spree". i just buy a lot of tidbits back. that's all. repeat after me, say "cheap cheap!!")

i wasn't really nervous. much was told to me by my brother who underwent the same surgery just one week ago, so i pretty know what to expect. i was made to wear the standard operation garb, told to relax and to sit outside THE operation theatre after they drip god-knows what into my eyes (i suppose anesthetics).. with a blanket draped over me. the surgery assistant scurrying round me happen to be the same receptionist that attended to me the day i came to make an appointment. (like huh?) all the while, only one thing my brother (repeatedly) said came to mind,

"just listen to the doctor and nothing will go wrong."

this head popped out of THE operation theatre . "miss poh, you can come in already."

(i am addressed miss poh umpteen times in the clinic. "miss poh.. yadda yadda yadda..", "miss poh.. miss poh... yadda yadda yadda..")

its time.

(still not nervous.)

i laid down and doctor lee (the same doctor who attended to my sister. my brother got a male doctor.) went through what she's going to do.
"miss poh, is everything ok?"
"ok!!!!"
"what i am going to do next is to use this to open your eyes wider. you may feel some pain when i do it but it is ok. then i will cut your cornea to expose the bed(?) and flip the flap over. i will shine the laser over your eye for about 17 seconds. and then i will close the flap without stitches. are you ready? just relax ok?"
"ok!!!!"

the crisp "ok" reduced to a croak when she tried to open my right eye wider with something. (from the video i watched from Day 1, it should be this metal instrument that forces my eyelids apart so that i don't blink. she did comment earlier my eyes are not wide enough. sigh.) seriously, i grabbed on to the sides of the bed that instant, not that the pain was intolerable but i just wasn't expecting that.

mind you.. i was wide awake throughout the whole operation. i just had to concentrate on the red light, with a green dot in the centre, while she messed up with my eyes. i seek solace in the fact that everything she does happen at such close proximity i have no idea what she is doing, even when she makes an incision and lift a portion of my cornea opened. urps. gracious me.. i only realise it when the red light becomes a blurry red mess, like water.. pretty much like what my brother had described.

"ok miss poh. i am going to shine the laser on your eye for 17 seconds. do not move during the process."

she grabbed my chin, as if to make sure i blardy hell do not move. i dare not, rest assure. funnily, i counted 10 seconds for my right eye and 20 seconds for my left eye though. and true to what the surgery assistant has told me while i was waiting outside - that if i m a right hander, the left eye will hurt more. hmm..

trust me, the pain is minimal. (cramps are much much worse.) seconds after the operation, i can see rather clearly already. i felt discomfort in my left eye.. or maybe slight pain. but all in all, it was good. i even went for [zi cha] at my father's friend shop after the surgery (yummy!) though i could hardly keep my eyes open cos it was too glaring and opening my eyes leads to a new rush of tears flowing down my cheeks. (i was wearing sunglasses though. collin's new oakley. muahahahaha~)

later in the day, the discomfort is akin to wearing your contact lenses but on the wrong side. but the discomfort goes away after a short 4 hours nap. when i woke up, it feels like i did nothing to my eyes. all is good. no pain, no discomfort.

wala~ thats lasik for you.

btw, in singapore it's about s$5k for both eyes. i did mine in malaysia for rm4400. that's about s$2k. see the disparity.. oh.. and optimax is only 5 minutes from the causeway and is ISO 9001 registered (i dunno what i means but i think its an icon of quality/reliability?).

the downside- my mantra for the following one month:
- no swimming/hot tub/sauna/water sports
- no contact sports e.g. martial art, rugby, football, etc.
- avoid rubbing/squeezing or put pressure on the eye
- avoid smoky, dusty, dirty environment
- saloon facial to wait after 1 month check-up

ah.. i will miss sentosa. *cries..*

finally, a digression: i swear i will manage my time from today onwards. stop procastinating and watched the clock. priortise my life. and quit being late. i get angry with myself when i am late. i am always late. i am always angry with myself for being late.

not anymore. i shall change. for a start, i will get the long overdue ALARM CLOCK tmr. a big loud one, with a snooze function.

i shall also catch up with what i missed out for the last 4 weeks of sem 2. gosh.. i m so lagged, i dunno wassup from Day 1. this has to change.

change. change. change.


(i'll try.. you can't pin me for this entry if i am late ok. dun u think.. heh.)