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Laser surgery brings life into focus

"I can see!" I shouted to Bob, my fiance. "Parking for patients only. I can read that! This is like a miracle!" We had just left the doctor's office and headed toward the car. My eyes felt slightly irritated, like I had an eyelash caught in each one. But that didn't matter. I could see.

I had first heard about laser eye surgery on a radio ad. The possibility of having perfect eyesight beckoned me for months until I finally attended the doctor's informational seminar.

Because I had never undergone surgery of any kind, I worried about the risks. I wondered how the laser knew where to pulse on my eye. I asked the doctor about long-term effects. I even fretted that someone would accidentally step on the laser's plug during the procedure.

The doctor and his staff patiently answered all my questions. They said that during the surgery, a cool laser light sends pulses to the cornea, changing its curvature and allowing images to focus more sharply on the retina. Laser vision technology can correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.

The laser uses the same radar system that NASA uses in space shuttles, the doctors said. This radar can measure eye movement 4,000 times per second.

The computer adjusts the laser beam to counter the eye movement, ensuring that the beam hits the eye in the correct spot. They told me that as long as I held fairly still, the surgery should be successful.

Because laser vision correction has been practiced for approximately 10 years, statistical analysis of life-long effects is unavailable. The staff cautioned me that most everyone's eyesight gets worse around age 40. Although laser correction can fix the shape of your cornea, it does not prevent the eye from changing shape when you are older, they said.

After learning everything I could about the procedure, I weighed the benefits of having perfect eyesight with the possible negatives of the surgery. Because I had attended the seminar, I could receive a discount of $1,000, making the total cost $3,000.

My decision did not take long. Three weeks after I attended the informational seminar in February of 2000, I laid down under the laser and got my new eyes.

Dr. Jeff Arthurs, a Multnomah Bible College professor, had laser eye surgery in March of 1999. He said his doctor did a thorough pre-op exam. "They make a topographical map of your eye," he said. "They load the information into the computer."

During my surgery, one man sat at the computer and ran the laser system. I lay on a medical bed and a "coach" held my hand. "You're doing a great job," she said. They administered numbing eye drops, so I didn't feel any pain.

The doctor operated the instruments. He used smooth metal jaws to hold my eyelids open. That was the part I feared most. I didn't mind the eye drops or the laser, but I hated losing control of my blinking.

The doctor cut a circular flap out of the lining around my eye so the laser could shoot straight onto my cornea. When that happened, I felt disoriented. Everything became so blurry that I could only tell whether an object was dark or light.

After a few other preparations, my coach told me to look straight up at a red light. For about 60 seconds, I stared at that little light and tried not to move my eye. The air smelled like burnt hair.

When the laser finished, the doctor put the flap back over my cornea, administered some eye drops, and we moved on to the next eye. The entire procedure took approximately 15 minutes.

I went home and took a three-hour nap. When I woke up, my eyes felt less irritated than right after the surgery. I even went out to dinner that evening. For the next few nights, I wore the metal goggles, and I used three different kinds of eye drops to help heal my eyes.

Dr. Arthurs said that having perfect vision has enhanced his activities. "I can wrestle with my son," he said. "Playing sports is easier. I can read the alarm in the middle of the night."

Eight months have passed since my surgery. My life has improved significantly. I can find the bathroom in the morning without stubbing my toes. I can walk outside in the wind. And I don't get cranky because of sticky, dust-filled contacts.

My surgery was hardly like the blind man's experience when Christ healed him, but for a woman who has had to wear corrective lenses since the fourth grade, it feels like a miracle.