Surgery Day
I'm writing this a few days after the surgery, so some of the details are fuzzy, but I'll do my best.
My check in time was set for 7am, which meant waking up at about 5:45am. We got the kids up and threw them in the car in their PJs. Got to Herzig right at 7am and I had about 20 pages to sign, then of course, pay the $8000+ bill. Once that was taken care of, I was brought back to the pre-op room (which also happens to be the post-op recovery). The nurse put 4 different eye drops in my eyes , placed a sticker over my right eye (to indicate which eye to operate on first). About 10 minutes later I got another series of the same 4 drops. Then one more series about 10 min later. I got to finish my coffee while the nurse gave me a hand massage. There was one other patient brought in after me, an older gentleman having cataract surgery. I was then called back to the eye exam room for one more series of drops before Dr Herzig came in, He took one last look at my eyes and then said he would see me in surgery in a few minutes. I was escorted into the OR and given a spot to leave my purse. Then took my glasses off and put them away in my bag, and the nurse led me to the operating table. I was cold so they brought me a warm blanket, then a few minutes later the Dr arrived.
He placed a sticky drape over my face and cut a hole out for my right eye. He began the procedure and I really didn't feel any discomfort, I remember being confused about where to look because he said to look straight at the light but then would be tugging my eye in a different direction, so I didn't really know whether to try to look towards the light or just go with wherever he was tugging, but I guess whatever I did look was fine because he didn't say anything else about it. Once he put the lens in, my whole vision went black for what seemed like over a minute, and that was a little scary. He was reassuring me the whole time that everything was going well, though, so I just assumed that was normal. Eventually everything came into focus (although tinted brown from the iodine drops, and the bright light), and after a little more tugging, he said we were all done with that eye. He stepped out for a minute and then came back in to do the left eye.
The left eye was pretty much the exact same procedure as the right, except that it seemed like he had trouble getting the lens in maybe? he had to do something twice that he only did once on the other eye. The vision went black again, but in that eye it only lasted a few seconds and then it all came back. Before I knew it we were all done and I was brought back to the exam room for a few minutes (I think he took a look in my eyes with a scope but I really don't remember). I was then escorted to the post-op room (I was a little dizzy getting up from the table), and the nurse offered me a cup of coffee. At that point there were a lot more people waiting for their surgeries. She went over the eye drops with me and handed me a bag with 2 sets of drops (Vigamox and Maxidex, antibiotic and anti inflammatory) and sunglasses to be worn whenever I was outside for at least a week. 1 drop of each 4x a day for the first week, 1 drop of each 2x a day for the second week. No mascara or eye make up for the first week. After that little lecture, I asked how long I was supposed to sit there for, and the nurse said I could leave whenever I felt ready. So I finished my coffee and headed the bathroom to take a look at my zombie eyes (the dilation was insane! I had no iris!) Then I went to the lobby to meet my husband. We left (with me sporting my new shades) and headed back to the condo we were renting.
My check in time was set for 7am, which meant waking up at about 5:45am. We got the kids up and threw them in the car in their PJs. Got to Herzig right at 7am and I had about 20 pages to sign, then of course, pay the $8000+ bill. Once that was taken care of, I was brought back to the pre-op room (which also happens to be the post-op recovery). The nurse put 4 different eye drops in my eyes , placed a sticker over my right eye (to indicate which eye to operate on first). About 10 minutes later I got another series of the same 4 drops. Then one more series about 10 min later. I got to finish my coffee while the nurse gave me a hand massage. There was one other patient brought in after me, an older gentleman having cataract surgery. I was then called back to the eye exam room for one more series of drops before Dr Herzig came in, He took one last look at my eyes and then said he would see me in surgery in a few minutes. I was escorted into the OR and given a spot to leave my purse. Then took my glasses off and put them away in my bag, and the nurse led me to the operating table. I was cold so they brought me a warm blanket, then a few minutes later the Dr arrived.
He placed a sticky drape over my face and cut a hole out for my right eye. He began the procedure and I really didn't feel any discomfort, I remember being confused about where to look because he said to look straight at the light but then would be tugging my eye in a different direction, so I didn't really know whether to try to look towards the light or just go with wherever he was tugging, but I guess whatever I did look was fine because he didn't say anything else about it. Once he put the lens in, my whole vision went black for what seemed like over a minute, and that was a little scary. He was reassuring me the whole time that everything was going well, though, so I just assumed that was normal. Eventually everything came into focus (although tinted brown from the iodine drops, and the bright light), and after a little more tugging, he said we were all done with that eye. He stepped out for a minute and then came back in to do the left eye.
The left eye was pretty much the exact same procedure as the right, except that it seemed like he had trouble getting the lens in maybe? he had to do something twice that he only did once on the other eye. The vision went black again, but in that eye it only lasted a few seconds and then it all came back. Before I knew it we were all done and I was brought back to the exam room for a few minutes (I think he took a look in my eyes with a scope but I really don't remember). I was then escorted to the post-op room (I was a little dizzy getting up from the table), and the nurse offered me a cup of coffee. At that point there were a lot more people waiting for their surgeries. She went over the eye drops with me and handed me a bag with 2 sets of drops (Vigamox and Maxidex, antibiotic and anti inflammatory) and sunglasses to be worn whenever I was outside for at least a week. 1 drop of each 4x a day for the first week, 1 drop of each 2x a day for the second week. No mascara or eye make up for the first week. After that little lecture, I asked how long I was supposed to sit there for, and the nurse said I could leave whenever I felt ready. So I finished my coffee and headed the bathroom to take a look at my zombie eyes (the dilation was insane! I had no iris!) Then I went to the lobby to meet my husband. We left (with me sporting my new shades) and headed back to the condo we were renting.
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