I recently had the LASIK vision correction procedure on both my eyes. The surgery is performed by Dr. Thomas Clinch at LCA Vision in Torrance, California. I used to have approximately -4.5 vision with a 1.25 astigmatism. I can now see clearly without glasses and love it.

Went to Rite Aid to pick up prescription eye drops – 50 bucks, ouch! And it is such a tiny bottle. This is the only expense beyond the cost of the procedure but it is unexpected.

I Arrived at the office at 1:00pm. Three people are scheduled for surgery this afternoon with Dr. Clinch. Another doctor had to push one of his morning procedures to the afternoon so we are running a little behind. At about 1:30pm I take a Valium which does not seem to have any noticeable effect, apparently it is not supposed to. At around 2:00pm I’m prepped with numbing drops, antiseptic ish, and a patch is put over my left eye – the right one is first.

They walk me into the "operating room" and put me into a chair which reclines and tilts until my feet are above my head and I'm laying flat-out at about a 20 degree angle. The eye is held open with a wire device which is similar to a pair of tongs but in reverse. A metal ring is placed on the eye and it seems to touch the eye socket all around. Next the micro-kerotome is assembled onto the ring, I'm not sure how, and the suction is turned on. Now up to this point there is nothing to worry about, the eye is numb to the point of feeling no pain and the Valium makes me feel no worries about stuff being stuck into my eye -- but the suction is uncomfortable. The vision in my eye darkens and then goes black. A moment later the distinct sound of servo gear motors and a slight tugging sensation on my eyeball indicates that the flap has been sliced. Apparently the micro-kerotome is motorized and runs on a track across the eye -- kind of nifty. At this point they remove the vacuum and the vision in the eye comes back slowly. Some rinsing and swabbing is done on the area under the flap and then we proceed to the laser. I stare at the famous red dot and count off the seconds for the laser run -- around 30 seconds for me. My eye went off center one time and they had to stop but we quickly finish the allotted time. More rinsing and swabbing and then they put the flap back on. After closing my eye for a minute, or so, they move the patch from the left to the right and off we go again.

While doing the left eye there is a problem with the micro-kerotime -- it will not go across my eye. After removing the vacuum and starting over, it still won't go. Finally all three of the staff working on me get involved and they manage to get it to go by pulling my cheek down and my eyebrow up. Well, the suction on the eye is uncomfortable when on for the 30 seconds required when everything goes normal. It crosses over into very uncomfortable / somewhat painful when applied for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. It takes a lot longer for my vision to come back than it did on the right eye. The rest of the surgery goes just like the right eye.

The first thing they do when they have me sit up is look at the clock. Yes, I can read it! Everything is hazy -- like looking through fogged up glasses -- and my vision is both blurry and there is a ghost double image but it is much better than before without my glasses. They perform a post-operation check of my eye and reassure me that everything went just perfect and there is nothing wrong with the left flap. At this point both eyes feel "scratchy" but my left eyeball and eye socket hurt -- not a lot but enough to be a little uncomfortable.

On the way home I proclaim that if my eyes weren't watering so much I could drive myself. Once home, I take my 2 hour nap as directed and when I wake up my right eye feels as if I had done nothing to it at all. My left eye still hurts a little and it is still a little scratchy. I watch TV as directed -- the Dodger game -- and find that it is easy to see the game but it is nearly impossible to read the scores and stats as they flash up on the screen. Even when holding a piece of paper at any distance I cannot read comfortably. The characters are in focus but the double vision is like a fixed offset -- about 1/2 a character for my left eye and 1/5^th for my right.

When I wake up neither eye feels scratchy any more but my left eye still has much more noticeable offset than the right. In the afternoon I go for my follow-up visit. My wife insists on driving me even though I think I can manage and she won't let me go to work afterwards either. Just as well, I still can't read very well. They give me the eye test and proclaim 20/30 left and 20/15 right. It just goes to show you that this is not a very good measure of quality of sight. My focus is great but the double vision is still making it a chore to read anything. A colored eye drop is used to check the cornea. It checks out great. When I question the doctor about my double vision, particularly the left eye, he says that it has only been one day -- have patience.

I go to work and do as much non-computer work as possible. Even after changing my settings to get larger text I still find it straining to read. Needless to say, the buildup of crud on the horizontal surfaces in my office manages to find a home for the first time in months (years?).

Alleluia! I can see! The offset in my right eye is gone. My left eye is now about the same as the right eye was yesterday. I can easily read although the left eye is annoying. I fire up my computer and verify that yes, I can work again.