Changes... A Little At A Time

Well, the surgery was Wednesday. What an interesting event.

They have it set up basically like a little factory... There were 13 of us there that day to be zapped. We started off in a conference room where we watched safety videos and had our eyes dialated. Then, we waited our turn. There was lots of typical military humor as we of course were all military... several different branches, and all ranks ranging from O-6 down to a private.

When it came time for me, I'll admit to being nervous. Partly because I wanted to make sure I did my part right. You have to remain absolutely still and stare at a red light during the whole procedure. Now, it only lasts between 15-75 seconds per eye, but that can be a long time to stare (although, it's helped by having an eye speculum prop your eyes open, it's still necessary not to blink). Then, you hear the laser start up, the doc holds you steady, and then...

A blue light comes in. It's the laser. You can smell the flesh of your eyeball being burned away. Slightly disconcerting. The red light gets harder to follow as your eye changes shape due to the laser. And then, it's over. Next eye.

After all that, you're sent home with a paper sack full of drugs (including Percocet!). At that very moment, you can already see better. No glasses. I could read the time off of a clock on the wall! I was very impressed. However, since my eyes were still dilated, I could NOT read my watch. Fortunately, we had a room a few hundred yards away, so no driving required.

The rest of the day, I just rested my eyes... Not much else to do. TV was an option to listen to.

The next morning, it was our first follow-up. I started off normal, but by the time I was there, I was in agony. "This is normal." Right. I was glad I'd extended our room reservation so we didn't have to travel. We spent the rest of the day chilling in the hotel.

Chilling wouldn't be quite descriptive as Europe was in the middle of a sweltering heat wave. 98 degrees at one point. Big deal? Well, Europe doesn't have A/C. It was a tad bit warm in the room.

Friday, we made our way back. I drove, albeit under less than capable conditions. E doesn't like to drive unless it's a flat-out emergency, so she co-piloted for me. I could see the road and vehicles fine. The navigation device and vehicle instrumentation was blind to me, though.

Over the past few days, it's slowly improved. As promised. However, it's still fluctating in its stability. Sometimes I can see some things clearly. Others, not so much. I take drops four times a day, plus some every half hour. I'll be doing this for the next six months.

This is all necessary as part of the eye surgery the military does. In the civilian world, most people have LASIK surgery. It allows a faster recovery time. In that procedure, a flap is cut from the cornea (eye ball), and a laser adjusts the inside of the eye, and then the flap is sealed back into place. The military only uses PRK surgery. This procedure changes the shape of the cornea by using the laser to burn off excess tissue. Why the difference? The military used LASIK, but then noticed that the flap would come loose during violent maneuvers. As you can imagine, this would be a very bad thing if you were in a tank, or worse, piloting an aircraft. So, the PRK method is the only one used now.




While we were there, we were able to fully enjoy the Ramstein area. It's just amazing. The BX there is TWO FLOORS! An entire floor devoted to clothing. Not a rug in sight! There's a whole concessionaire's mall, too. Everything, including fine crystal on sale. Plus every food outlet imaginable.

We stopped by the commissary, too. One of the biggest we've ever been in. It had a deli shop, a bakery, meat shop, and a HUGE fresh fruit and vegatable area. We went up and down the aisles trying our best not to do too many Homer Simpson drooling impressions. Just amazing.

The kids even had the opportunity to try out one of the base playgrounds. Massive, AND with playground equipment for kids Thomas' age. It was a blast. We did swings, slides, climbing, monkey bars, and lots of running around. Helped tire out the kiddies which in turn helps keep the parent sane.

One last bonus? Ramstein IS a USAF base, so there were lots of planes. Not that I could see many some times, but just the same, I really enjoyed being near them.

Of course, the facilities we were staying in were top-notch. Air Force Inns. Everything was very comfortable. Can't say enough positive.

So, this week, we go back for a one night trip to have another follow-up, and find out if I've healing the way I'm supposed to.