I still haven't forgotten the feeling of helplessness that overwhelmed me when I failed my first test: a vision exam at the nurse's office in elementary school. When I went to the optometrist afterwards, he slapped me on the knee and proclaimed, "Welcome to the club!" "What club?" I asked, desperately hoping that it was the Cool Club. "People who wear glasses," he replied jovially. How disappointing. And thus I became the first person in the whole third grade to wear glasses.
My glasses-wearing years were not exactly the best. I took more than one basketball to the face during that time, permanently skewing my glasses frames. When my parents let me get contacts(!) in eighth grade, one of my best friends exclaimed, "Whoa! You're pretty??" (HAHAHA!) I thought that was all bad enough, but the worst was yet to come. I am so near-sighted that my retina is stretched dangerously thin over the back of my eyes, leaving me at risk for retinal detachment. I had my first laser surgery just over ten years ago to sear the retina against the back of my left eye. My doctor shot laser beams from a headset into my eyeball. The future is here! From my perspective, it looked like a climactic battle from an episode of Transformers – pew pew pew!
I'm thinking about all of this because I have two eye appointments tomorrow. The first is for an updated prescription from my optometrist. Last year, she told me, "Well, the bad news is that your vision's worse; the good news is that you're not legally blind, yet." The second is with the retinologist, who will be doing a quick laser procedure, again on my left eye, to seal off a new little hole in my retina. Dave will pick me up from the appointment, and we'll immediately hit the road for PA/NJ for a weekend of wedding appointments. (My student health insurance cuts out in less than a week, so I'm trying to squeeze in all kinds of healthcare.) This will be my favorite kind of roadtrip: Dave drives, I nap!
Dave scanned this picture for the wedding slideshow because he said it "was not too bad."
My glasses-wearing years were not exactly the best. I took more than one basketball to the face during that time, permanently skewing my glasses frames. When my parents let me get contacts(!) in eighth grade, one of my best friends exclaimed, "Whoa! You're pretty??" (HAHAHA!) I thought that was all bad enough, but the worst was yet to come. I am so near-sighted that my retina is stretched dangerously thin over the back of my eyes, leaving me at risk for retinal detachment. I had my first laser surgery just over ten years ago to sear the retina against the back of my left eye. My doctor shot laser beams from a headset into my eyeball. The future is here! From my perspective, it looked like a climactic battle from an episode of Transformers – pew pew pew!
I'm thinking about all of this because I have two eye appointments tomorrow. The first is for an updated prescription from my optometrist. Last year, she told me, "Well, the bad news is that your vision's worse; the good news is that you're not legally blind, yet." The second is with the retinologist, who will be doing a quick laser procedure, again on my left eye, to seal off a new little hole in my retina. Dave will pick me up from the appointment, and we'll immediately hit the road for PA/NJ for a weekend of wedding appointments. (My student health insurance cuts out in less than a week, so I'm trying to squeeze in all kinds of healthcare.) This will be my favorite kind of roadtrip: Dave drives, I nap!
That is an EPIC watch you are wearing... fashion forward I say.
ReplyDeletecasio: it'll never do you wrong!
DeleteOMG so basically your hair 20 years ago is my hair TODAY! haha!
ReplyDeleteso how near-sighted is dangerously near-sighted? i'm -7.00 (or is it -7.25) in my left eye, is that anywhere near yours?
when i was in the 4th grade, a classmate asked our teacher to try on her glasses... our teacher pretended to, but the frames were clearly far too narrow... then our teacher walked over to my desk and said, "but i think julie's glasses will fit my face!" and she was right...
YES, this is why i can never get your extremely trendy haircut! because i actually WILL look exactly like i did when i was 9!
Deletemy vision is more like -7.50 in each eye (i hope it won't be much worse tomorrow), but my retina issues might stem more from the shape of my actual eyeball. still, next time you get your eyes checked, it might be worth having them dilate and check the edges of your retina. i was first alerted to my problem during a routine optometry apptment at costco!
i did get the edges checked a few months ago so i'm fine for now :)
Delete"extremely trendy"!
i win! i am -10! mwahahaha! and i have astigmatism!! :D but my cousin is an optometrist, so he's got my back. my back of the retina, that is...
ReplyDeletekatie... this photo is SO ADORABLE!!! such a cutie. and with a cute little bunny!! i can't wait for the rest of the slideshow...
minus TEN?? oh katie, you DO win. i want to see pictures of you in coke-bottle glasses from when you were a kid... =)
Deleteoh and also i am sorry you have to go through this procedure, but glad it's covered by insurance and that you will have a good, nap-filled road trip to look forwardto! <3
ReplyDelete