The most uncomfortable thing to me was wearing the eye shields. It was like wearing a Lone Ranger mask all day and all night. But all of the discomfort was forgotten the next morning when I woke up and looked around. I could see! I looked over at the digital clock on the night stand and could easily make out the numbers. I turned on the television and enjoyed watching the early morning news. Most importantly, my eyes did not hurt at all. No itchiness, swelling or even unusual dryness. I still used the drops just like Erika had told me to. There was a little redness from the suction device and my eyesight was still a little blurry. Also, I was just a little bit sensitive to light. Dr. Kelly had told me to expect that blurriness and sensitivity for a couple of weeks as my eyes completely healed.

The follow-up appointments were scheduled on a progressively lengthening basis:

• One day after surgery
• One week after surgery
• One month after surgery
• Three months after surgery
• Six months after surgery
• One year after surgery

Later in the afternoon of the day immediately after my surgery, I went back to Dr. Kelly for my first follow-up appointment. Erika gave me a vision test to see what my improvement was. She said that the average result for the first day after surgery is 20/50. My right eye was 20/25 and my left eye was 20/20, an amazing leap from the 20/400 that I had in both eyes the day before! Dr. Kelly then checked each eye to make sure that it was healing properly and gave me a clean bill of health.

The change in my vision is phenomenal.

My next appointment was a week after the surgery. Erika once again checked my eyesight. It had continued to improve over the week and was now 20/15, even better than normal! Erika quickly cautioned me that my vision could regress slightly over the next couple of months but should not regress beyond 20/20. Dr. Kelly once again checked my eyes and said that they were doing great.

At my one-month exam, Dr. Kelly informed me that my eyes seem to be completely healed with no side effects whatsoever. My vision has stabilized between 20/20 and 20/15. Life is good!

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