My moment of truth was yesterday. 3 months (and some change) after having PRK with LasikPlus, I went back to the office for "the big" follow-up.

I attempted to read the letters on the screen. I covered one eye, then the other, reading again and again.

Then I heard words I thought could never possibly apply to me in my lifetime:

"Good. 20/15."

20/15? Me? What kind of joke is this? I wasn't convinced 20/20 was possible for someone as blind as me, and it would have been more than enough. But it's real. I can see—on my own!

I can't believe I've really, finally kissed these goodbye.

Prior to my procedure, I scoured the internet for blogs to glean any information possible and to get an idea of what to expect—particularly in terms of recovery. I found many negative experiences that only served to scare me, but did find one good bit of advice which led to my last minute decision to get a second opinion (and then change providers just 3 days before the scheduled procedure).

I know others are likely lurking around looking for tips and answers just like I was. The bottom line is this: I would do it again in a heartbeat. I am thrilled with my results, and currently my only remaining side effect is the "halos" at night, which should ease with more time.

Nice knowing you, glasses. Except it wasn't.

Of course, what I really wanted to know was what to expect during recovery—7 days in the case of PRK. Here are my top tips to make the most of it (it's worth it, I promise!):

1. Prepare for Light Sensitivity

I love sunlight and my house is full of it. I knew that immediately after my procedure, I was to go home and take a nap. I knew I would be sensitive to the light, but I didn't get just how sensitive. I went straight to my bedroom where the light crept through the blinds covering our bay window. I love that window, but on surgery day, it was my nemesis. So was the guest room with the navy blue gauzy curtains drawn shut. I was squinting so hard, I was adding to the pain and giving myself a headache. The whole sunny house was suddenly my nemesis and I felt like I had nowhere to go to rest.

Eventually, Sean kicked McHenry out of his basement den (there's one tiny window that Sean was able to block) and I spent the remaining sunlight hours down there on a futon.

The moral of the story? Light sensitivity means ALL light. Set up the darkest cave possible for resting in the first day or two (all the better if the room is window-less). Even better, get your procedure done in the abysmal months of November-February when the sun is setting at 5 PM and you have fewer hours of light to worry about. January worked perfect for me because once I was back to work, I could drive home just before dark (the night vision halos are real, guys).

2. Treat Your Recovery as Such

All the things you do when you're trying to keep your immune system happy during cold season? Keep those up in the days leading up to and following your procedure: drink plenty of water, get an appropriate amount of rest (the more, the better!), and be sure to have enough vitamin C. Keeping your body healthy makes healing quicker and easier.

3. Trust the Holistic Remedies

My doctor suggested that Omega 3 (fish or flaxseed oil) were beneficial to eye health. I mentioned that I was already taking flaxseed, and he suggested increasing my dosage until a few months post-op to help accelerate healing. I'm guessing it helped, since in both follow-up appointments, I've progressed better than expected (full disclosure: I was really expecting a much longer and harder recovery due to how high my original vision prescription was). Another comforting "crunchy" remedy was my bedside my essential oil diffuser with a blend of lavender, lemon, and peppermint.

4. Keep Comfortable

Recovery requires lots of artificial tears. I needed them hourly for the first week and at least 4x/day after this. My doctor suggested storing them in the fridge for an extra nice sensation. The coolness feels so nice on dry, scratchy eyes!

5. Follow Directions Completely

I know this one sounds obvious, but just like with antibiotics, some patients think they're doing well enough to not complete what was prescribed. There are a lot of eye drops and instructions to keep up with, but do it. The pros do thousands of these procedures and know what is best for a full recovery. Finish each drop as prescribed, always wear sunglasses outdoors during daylight, and heed any other instructions noted such as restrictions on water, eye rubbing, or cosmetics.

I recently had my one month PRK follow-up appointment which went well: my doctor at LasikPlus said I was doing better than expected at this point in my recovery (seeing about 20/25). I am now finished with all prescription drops and only need to use artificial tears from this point forward (no problem here since I've been using them for years anyway).


Things are mostly back to normal: I can see as well as I did with my contacts in all aspects except for reading (doc said he wouldn't be surprised if I am reading comfortably in about three weeks!). On the computer, I can zoom in to a larger resolution, but as far as books or most printed materials, reading at that size is still difficult and I avoid it if not ne

I was told that the eyes heal independently from one another and it's fascinating just how true this is. While I haven't had any unbearable pain or side effects since the week immediately after my procedure, slight discomforts happen every now and then (sensations like that of an eyelash falling into your eye). One day it would be one eye, the next day the opposite eye would have it's own strange moment.

It's so funny to get ready for bed at night and realize I don't have contacts to take out. I've never been able to see during my walk from the bathroom to the bedroom, and now my nightly routine feels incomplete. Of course, waking up and being able to see totally makes up for that.

With vacation coming up, I'm so excited at the thought of not having to panic about any of the following for the first time ever:

• Forgetting to pack solution
• Not having enough solution
• My lens tearing during the trip
• My lens popping out during water activities
• My eyes being bothered by the lenses and having to wear glasses during vacation

I'm typing this one all by myself...progress!

I'm spying a lot more with these little eyes than I'd hoped for in just a week.

Monday: Day 4

This was my first day at home without Sean, so I got wild! That is, I played my podcasts without headphones. I know, I know...scandalous behavior over at the Walsh house.

Podcasts aside, each day definitely added a little frustration. When recovering from my ear surgeries, I could read, color, or spend as much mindless time on social media as my heart desired to kill the time. Without my eyes...rough. It's literally eat, sleep, podcast, or sit and do nothing. My Fitbit step count would make me cry if my eyes weren't already teary.

Speaking of my eyes, the sensation has transitioned from scratchy/sandy to dusty/scratchy. I was very liberal with the use of artificial tears.

I could look at the phone and computer screens for just a few minutes before my eyes felt tired.

Tuesday: Day 5 + First Follow-Up

Sean left work early to take me to my follow-up appointment. It was rough being outside in the daylight for the first time, even with sunglasses, but I adjusted faster than I expected to.

A major shout out to LasikPlus for their promptness. I was seen immediately when I arrived.

The appointment was just a few minutes and included a vision test (they say I'm doing better than they expected for me), removal of the bandage contact lenses, and a quick look into my eyes with the light (OUCH!). For now I'm to keep up with the different eye drops as directed.

By the end of the day, my eyes felt a lot more comfortable with the lenses out. Vision is still blurry and I'm being very liberal with the artificial tears.

Wednesday-Thursday: Wrapping Up Week One

Wow! I've been really worried about how quick my vision would return, and I've been pleasantly surprised. It's not perfect, but it's better than I expected—like wearing an old glasses prescription where you can see reasonably in front of you but more detailed things like reading are fuzzier. My eyes were mostly comfortable (a little scratchy on Thursday), and I've been keeping up with frequent use of artificial tears.

I've been letting more light into the house and on Thursday we even had a field trip to Target for more eye drops! I couldn't read the aisle signs (let's be real—I know exactly where everything in Target is anyway), but everything else felt normal.

Night vision is odd and I think will be for awhile. The "halos" you hear about are real. I've been going with Sean for Anise's late night walks and I tell him the street lamps look like spiders.

What's Next

I logged onto my computer, turned the brightness down, the text size up, and already my eyes are watering...and quite frankly, I can't see what I'm typing. I guess I'm passing this onto Sean:

Thursday: Surgery Day

Everything happened so much faster than I expected. I arrived at 1:30 for my 1:40 appointment and was immediately whisked away for all the pre-procedure eye tests to confirm my prescription. My prescriptions were confirmed and the FSA account was promptly emptied. I met with the surgeon for final questions before heading to the O.R. at 2:15. The procedure was quicker than ever expected. From all accounts I read the procedure was supposed to take a few minutes per eye. For me the laser portion was no more than a minute per eye and was followed by a series of drops, a rinse of cold water per eye, and the placement of contacts which is to act as a bandage for the time being. We had the all clear to leave and were home by 3 pm.

I wasn't expecting anything terrible from Day 1, however we learned very quickly the issue of light sensitivity. I've always loved the fact that our house is full of windows and skylights that flood the house with natural light, but on this day it proved to be my enemy as it seemed we could find no room dark enough to rest comfortably post-op. The residual light peering through blind & curtains in different rooms all proved too bright and caused my eyes to burn and water uncontrollably. Eventually McHenry was kicked out of the basement den as the room had a window small enough to be covered from the light shining in. I spent the remainder of the daylight hours there to recover while Sean went to the pharmacy to pick up an optionally prescribed pain medicine that proved necessary to handle the pain. Once the sun went down I was able to return to our bedroom for the final round of eye drops and eye shields before going to sleep for the night. (The eye shields are in place to prevent inadvertent rubbing of the eyes.)

I wear these and lose these every time I sleep. WHY ARE THEY CLEAR?

Friday: Day One

Sean woke up early enough before the sun rose to move me back down the den. I listened to a few podcasts he downloaded for me ahead of time and later in the morning I was able to eat breakfast upstairs comfortably while wearing sunglasses. I felt a lot better than expected; my left eye had very minor discomfort, my right eye felt like nothing had ever happened. We even had a friend pop by for a few hours. While I was not able to see her clearly, I was feeling comfortable throughout the visit (while still wearing sunglasses).

Afterward I had some more recovery time down in the den, then dinner in the living room, by that point I was worn out so I completed my last round of eye drops and was in bed by 7.
On a side note I noticed I was able to read larger text like Sean's alarm clock, but could not comfortably look at TV or phone screens.

I can read these giant letters! Progress.

Saturday: Day Two

The doctors had warned that Days 2 and 3 would be the worst. While they were not as bad as the pain experienced on surgery day I would have had to agree. My right eye that had felt so good yesterday felt as if something was stuck in it and had been burning and tearing all day. The left eye although still uncomfortable is not as bad as the right. Vision remained blurry in both. I spend the day in and out of bed while looking forward toward the next round of eye drops (prescription drops are twice a day, artificial tears are hourly).

Sunday: Day Three

This day was pretty much the same as Day 2 but with blurrier and scratchier eyes. I washed my hair which was challenging as you're not to get your eyes wet. While uncomfortable I was able to get fresh air on a walk with Sean & Anise once the sun went down. I am hoping that Days 2 & 3 truly are the worst so that going forward I can stop taking the prescribed pain medicine and continue with only ibuprofen.

Tuesday is considered Day 5; on that day I will have the first followup appointment which will include the removal of my temporary contacts. I hope to update after this.

Other PRK Posts

Why I Changed Providers
1 Week Update