As always, Justin did his research. He narrowed the list of possible doctors. He then researched the equipment. He wanted the latest and greatest, but also wanted a top notch doctor. He settled on Dr. Ashraf at Atlanta Vision Institute. Dr. Ashraf has two offices in the Atlanta area - one in Johns Creek and one in Dunwoody. As much as Justin does not like going outside of Atlanta, he chose to go to the office in Johns Creek because the equipment was newer.
Justin scheduled the consultation appointment for last week. Dr. Ashraf evaluated him and determined he was a good candidate for the surgery. Justin asked about scheduling the procedure and they said he needed to begin antibiotic eye drops a week before the procedure, so the next week would be the soonest he could return.
He did a little more research and then called to schedule the appointment for today. We both took off work for the day and headed to Johns Creek for his noon appointment.
We got checked in and visited with the assistant who told Justin what to expect and what to do after the procedure. She asked us to head to the waiting room for a few minutes until they called Justin back. We waited about five minutes and then they called Justin.
Before they called him, Justin showed me the area where they would do the procedure.
This machine is the one that cuts the flap. The patient lies on the bed/table and the table is moved under the machine. The doctor does something and the laser quickly cuts the cornea so the doctor can perform the actual LASIK procedure inside. The flap creation takes a few seconds per eye.
The second machine is the one that actually corrects the patient's vision. After the flap is created, the team slides the table over to the second machine. The doctor moves the flap so he/she can access the inside of the eye. This part of the procedure takes only a few seconds per eye.
Once they called Justin back, I panicked a little. I was nervous before, but once I knew the procedure was imminent, I got a little more panicked. Justin was anxious, which is understandable. They gave him a Valium once he got back there, which helped. I wish they had given me one, too!
While I was waiting for them to begin Justin's procedure, I watched the surgery of the patient ahead of him. It was pretty interesting. I was surprised how quick the procedure was.
Because I could watch the procedure, I knew when they began on Justin.
Once they got him in the room, they got him comfortable on the table and began prepping him. The prep part took a minute or so.
They began making the flaps. This took just a few seconds per eye, but it did take a few additional seconds so they could make the first flap and then reposition him to make the one on the other eye.
Once he made the flaps, they moved him over to the other machine and got to work.
The doctor gently flipped the flap and positioned Justin under the laser. I could hear the laser pulses outside the room, so I knew when they were doing the actual correction. I could also see everything on a big monitor in the room.
Once they finished the first eye, they quickly repositioned him, moved the flap, and corrected the second eye. This part took about thirty seconds per eye. The actual correction took only a few seconds per eye.
Once they finished with the laser part, the doctor returned the flaps to their original positions and used a squeegee thing to make sure they were in the correct position. Once he did this, the doctor and his staff got Justin to sit up and walk to the exam room. At this point, the doctor came out and spoke with me. He said Justin did very well. He said I could join him in the exam room, so I headed in that direction.
The doctor did a quick exam and pulled up some letters that Justin could easily read.
Once the doctor finished the exam, he said we could head home as soon as we were ready. Justin and I sat in the room for a couple of minutes. Justin's dad spoke with him during this time. Everyone was concerned, so I texted updates and photos during the procedure and afterward.
I need to be honest. I was probably more nervous than Justin. I don't handle medical things very well, so I didn't expect to get through this without an "episode." This time, it was quick and happened after the doctor released him. I started sweating and had to sit with my head down for a minute or two.
We headed home and Justin went straight to bed. The Valium really knocked him out. He slept for a couple of hours and then awoke to put in the eye drops. He drank some ginger ale and went back to sleep for a while.
He has to wear protective eyewear when he sleeps and when he showers for the next few weeks. Attractive, no?
His vision is slowly getting better. He can see better than previously without glasses, but everything is still a little hazy. This should continue getting better overnight. Justin has to return to the doctor's office tomorrow for a check. The doctor told him he could drive himself.
He's still tired and his eyes are very dry right now, which is expected. He will have to continue using the prescribed eye drops and also keep his eyes moist. Hopefully the dryness will get better quickly.
I'm so proud of Justin. I know he was anxious, but he came through it like a champ! I'm interested now, but still just don't know if I'll be able to make it through. Dr. Ashraf said I probably wouldn't go through with it since I watched Justin's, but it really wasn't as bad as I was expecting.
I have some videos, but need some help from Justin to rotate them. Once he's able to help me do that, I'll post them.
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