Meeting Doctor 1 - "Don't call us, we'll call you"

Doctor 1 – It was a sunny Sunday and I made my appointment. As requested, I was off the contact lenses for 3 full days. (Contact lenses alter the shape of one’s cornea). I met the ophthalmologist who was very kind and definitely knew her stuff by the way she explained everything. And I’m sure she did.

I should first mention that back then, I had no idea what the surgery was about. A good friend of mine had done his Lasik some 5 years ago but being the fearless person he was, I wasn’t surprised nothing went wrong. But with me, a paranoid skeptic and with my luck, I had no choice but to be careful. And to make things worse, I just met an uncle who advised me against the surgery because he was facing many problems. (Shadow images and halos even 1 year post surgery). Obviously I didn’t go to his doctor but his was supposed to be the best. But busiest and most expensive doesn’t always mean best. It does sometimes but not this time.

Back to the room of Doctor 1. So all was fine and the tests went great. I met the Doctor who said, “You’ll be a good candidate. When do you want to make your appointment?”
Woah, hang on. At least buy me dinner first.

I told him that I was a skeptic of the procedure and that I’ve only heard of unhappy patients. He threw down the gauntlet and told me to ask him anything. Now when people do this, I secretly have this desire to ask them about their favorite color but since this guy might be behind a laser directed at my eyes, I decided to lose the humor.

I asked him about what vision to expect and what would be the worst thing that could happen? He told me about infections, inflammations but as nervous as I was when he answered and I’m not even a scary person. He went on to explain that the chances were very slim but with his tone, I didn’t want to take a 3 pointer shot from the half court.

He then told me the only risk would be halos because I have big pupils. Oh, so the halos would be my fault then? (Halos are glows around lit objects that appear in dim light) He told me that I see halos without the Lasik anyway which is not true. He then said, the steroid drops are for a week and then that’s all.

I wasn’t at all at ease. “Well, everything sounds good doctor. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” I went home with my eyes diluted. Disappointed and squinting against the bright light wondering if I’d ever be able to lose my spectacles.