“I’m overjoyed! I’m spectacles-free!”

Hello everyone reading this blog of mine! Let me tell you about myself and how I got here. I’m 29 this year and much like most of the world, I wore glasses to treat my myopia for much of my life. That however, changed a few months ago when I got Lasik treatment from Dr Natasha Lim and my life has changed ever since.

This all started when my colleagues and I were having our usual talks about any current topics or going on when we noticed another of our colleagues looked a little different. She was walking about without glasses perfectly fine. 

You see, that particular colleague was famed for being especially clumsy whenever she was unfortunate to be without her pair of glasses due to her severe myopia, stating herself that she was barely able to see anything past a metre from her. Confused and shocked, we approached her about it. Apparently, she had decided to go for Lasik surgery and now she can see perfectly fine without glasses. She didn’t have to say it, but we could all see a clear boost in her self-confidence from her mannerisms.

To the outside, it sounds like actual magic was performed on her that day and just like my opinions of magic, I was both curious and sceptical about it. That same evening, my curiosity got the better of me and I started reading up about what Lasik is on the internet. Apparently, Lasik surgery is performed to permanently cure myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. It uses lasers to reshape the eye’s cornea in order to improve the clarity of a person’s vision. It has been proven to help patients correct their vision and even achieve 20/20 visual acuity which means that it can help remove dependencies on glasses or contact lenses which in turn opens up career opportunities that were unavailable previously.

However, Lasik is not without its downsides. In some rare cases, patients may experience higher-order aberrations which are visual problems that require special testing for diagnosis and are not corrected with normal spectacles post surgery. Almost 95% of patients also report dry eyes after the surgery and although it is usually temporary, on very rare occasions it can develop into chronic and severe dry eye syndrome and quality of life can be severely affected. There are a plethora of other complications that may occur on very rare occasions should a surgery not go completely well. 

Discovering this, I felt a little scared and overwhelmed and wondered why anyone would possibly want to get Lasik surgery despite seeing the long list of negative side effects it could have. Admittedly, I was interested at first as I find having to wear glasses or contact lenses all the time troublesome and the prospect of having perfect vision again sounded too good to be true. To clear any doubts I had, I decided to contact Dr Natasha Lim at my friend’s recommendation to ask why people still get Lasik despite all the risks that come with it. She decided to give me a consultation in which she gave me in depth useful knowledge about Lasik and what comes with it. She also gave me advice if I was suitable for surgery and if it was needed. After much thought, I decided that I would go through with the surgery and after that she recommended suitable lenses and set a date for surgery after ironing out the details.

She had scheduled for my surgery to be done 3 weeks after our consultation. During this period I was advised to stop wearing contacts and switch to glasses until the surgery. I also read more about what happens during the day of the surgery and what comes after and it seemed unreal. Supposedly, Lasik Surgery takes less than 30 minutes to perform and is painless and quick. 

The time passed quickly and soon enough it was the day of the surgery. On the morning of the day itself I was advised to not use any creams, lotions, makeup and perfumes. Throughout my journey to the surgery, I felt very anxious despite all the assurance I was given as this was my first time doing anything like this. When I reached the venue, I was somewhat relieved to know that Dr Natasha Lim herself would be the one performing the surgery and I knew I was in good hands.

I was guided to an exam room with a reclining chair which contained a large machine with a microscope attached to it and a computer screen which was the laser system. I was made to lie down on the chair and the surgery officially began. A numbing drop was placed in the eye she was going to work on and the area around my eye was cleaned. Then a lid speculum was placed to hold my eyelids open the entire time. When the surgery was underway, she told me that my vision would blur for the time being and that when the laser was about to be in use I would have to stare at a fixed light for at least 60 seconds. During this period where the laser was in use, I had a lot of thoughts running through my head like what if I moved or if the surgery failed. However, I was able to steel my nerves and focused on staring at the light. After about 5 minutes the doctor put an eye shield over that eye and said the surgery was over. This process was repeated on the other eye. 

After the surgery, I felt that my eyes were gritty and irritable and my vision was still blurred. Eye drops were given to me to apply whenever needed and I was advised to keep my eye shield on to prevent me from touching my eyes. After a while I saw my vision getting clearer and clearer until finally I could see the world around me with clarity without needing pesky glasses or contact lenses anymore. It felt like magic and a dream come true. I thanked Dr Natasha Lim again and again as she has done me a great service and in that moment, she felt like my fairy godmother.

For the next few months, I wore my eyeshield regularly and eventually only during sleep. I also refrained from any sports or strenuous activities and allowed my eyes to heal and adjust properly. I also went back to the doctor a few times for regular checkups and to monitor the progress of the healing process. I feel that after the surgery, I feel much more confident about myself and I am free of the need for glasses or contact lenses. No more irritation after prolonged use of contact lenses. 

No more need to buy new glasses or contact lenses every time my degree increases. I was free and it felt amazing. Thankfully I was lucky and had no complications post surgery and now I feel better than ever.