Redding Shotokan Karate

Last Friday I had LASIK surgery on my eyes.

I've worn glasses since the fifth grade, and probably needed them long before that. I remember coming home that first night after getting glasses. We lived in Conifer, Colorado, some 30-ish miles west of (and about 4,000 feet above) Denver. As we climbed above the city, I was enthralled by the millions of light pinpoints, all different colors, outlining the highways and buildings. It was beautiful! And at school! I could see the blackboard (which I'd never really noticed being out of focus before). I could recognize kids on the playground before I got up close. Wow!

Throughout my life - school, college, football, swimming, backpacking, karate, working on cars, yardwork - just life - I always put on glasses before beginning the day, and had to take care of them during the activities. It's a bummer having to choose between seeing the punch that knocks your glasses off and not seeing it, if you know what I mean.

Having spoken with both Greg and Yana about their corrective surgery experiences, I decided to go ahead with it. I was a "marginal" candidate because of the steepness of my corneal curve; there was a good chance that the initial cut of the epidermal layer would fail, and I'd be sent home to heal for a couple months before the surgeon would try an alternative procedure called PRK. Both LASIK and PRK are detailed in many places around the Internet, so I won't try explaining it here. Suffice to say that LASIK is preferable in terms of recovery time and discomfort, while both procedures yield the same results.

The LASIK worked for me and the doctor and attending technician (aka "angel") both said I did fine. It was immediately obvious, even through the haze of drops and the light dose of Valium they give all patients, that my old glasses were no longer appropriate. I went back to my hotel (the procedure was done in Medford, OR.) and took a 2-1/2 hour nap, awakening long enough to go exploring. I was able to drive and see just fine - no glasses! I'm 20/15 in one eye, 20/20 in the other. I drove home to Redding yesterday, with real sunglasses on, enjoying every new vista, every color, every shadow.

One could say it's a miracle, but it's one that happens to about 100 patients a week for this particular doctor, and I'm sure thousands, maybe millions, worldwide. No more of a miracle than getting a flu shot, and possibly just as comparable in terms of research. However, I'm sure it will change my life considerably. And for that I'll have one MORE thing to be grateful for during each class's ending mokuso.