Holy Cow Tractor Pulling Team

Sunday, April 01, 2007

LASIK Surgery
I have worn glasses since I was in 5th grade, and contacts since I was a sophomore in high school. Over the years, I had developed issues wearing various type of contacts, first gas-permeable, then extended-wear, and for about the last 9-months, disposable daily-wear. My most resent problem was a white film (mucus) that would build up on the lens later in the day. That film made things look foggy or blurry. My eye doctor gave me a variety of different contact brands to wear, but it always netted the same result. Sometimes, the film would build up to objectionable levels at 2 PM, sometimes not until 7 or 8 PM, but either way, it was driving me nuts.

Because of the work that I do outside on the tractor, motorcycling, and the issues with glasses going in and out of the weather and cold, I just don't like wearing glasses. Plus, with my strong prescription, my peripheral vision is distorted. My doctor said I seemed to have developed an allergy or intolerance to contacts, and since I didn't like glasses, had I considered LASIK.

I checked into all the area surgeons and narrowed in down to two and had initial consultations with them, and finally settled on Lafayette Eye Center and Dr. Sharvelle. I went on March 19th for my pre-op evaluation and was to have surgery on the 28th. During in the evaluation, they said they had a slot open the next day if I wanted to do it then. The big advantage was that it was a afternoon appointment where my original date was a morning appointment. (They want you to sleep the rest of the day following surgery, and I think that would be easier with an afternoon appointment). So, I had surgery on the 20th. Following surgery, everything was foggy and pretty blurry still. My follow up on the 21st showed my vision at 20/30 and 20/40, but both eyes had some swelling. They put me on a steroid drop. On the 22nd, the swelling was worse, and so was my vision, and the upped the dosage on the drops. They said swelling, while not common, is not unexpected. Over the next week, my vision improved as the swelling went down. By Sunday, I could see distance fairly well, and I could read printed material OK, but really struggled to read a computer screen. In a follow up with my normal eye doctor, he said that when they cut the flap, the first step in surgery, the eye bulges out a bit and causes the patient to become a little farsighted. As the flap heals, this goes away. So, today, nearly two weeks, following surgery, my distance vision is relatively good, but still fluctuation some. My near vision is still a bit blurry, especially on the computer, but improving rapidly.

Most importantly, my doctor said my eyes are the whitest he has even seen my eye be. So, I think getting rid on contacts was a very good move for the health of my eyes.

Overall, I am very happy with the results. During my follow ups, each eye has been at 20/20, though not at the same time. Because my eyes are still healing, my vision is still fluctuating a little, but I think they got the amount of correction just right. I don't think the swelling was caused my anything the doctor did, and it was only temporary. The only real issue I had was the farsightedness. I think that came from two areas, I had a strong prescription to begin with, so they needed a longer laser treatment to reshape the eye, and the fact that I am nearly 40, the age people start to need reading glasses anyway. I think if I was younger, my eyes could have better compensated for the farsightedness.

If you are interested in LASIK and have questions, feel free to contact me. If you are in the Lafayette, IN area, I have some referral cards that get you a free evaluation with Lafayette Eye Center.

Hauler Update
I bought a Freightliner off of eBay. It is a Century Class truck with a 70" double-bunk condo sleeper. There were some problems getting the title, but the seller offered to deliver the truck to me without a title and didn't require either a deposit or payment in full. I wasn't sure if I was being suckered into some type of scam, or the seller was just a truly nice guy. I took over a month for him to get the title issues straightened out, but in the end, the transaction went smooth as silk. It is nice to know that there are still honest, trusting people out there.

We are working on the truck to convert the sleeper into more of a living area. We are also working on the cargo part of the trailer to move things around a little to make room for our spare motor.

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