My eyes

So I'm thinking of getting LASIK surgery next year. I've always had terrible vision -- I started wearing glasses in the third grade, and my nearsightedness and astigmatism have gotten worse just about every year since then -- so the idea of being contacts- and glasses-free for the first time in almost 20 years is a little thrilling. My eyesight seems to have stabilized in the last year or two, and I'm the ideal age, so I'm seriously considering it.

Of course, it's a little scary to think about, even though it's perfectly safe. Do you know what they do to you during LASIK surgery? They numb you with an anesthetic eye drop, hold your eyes open Clockwork Orange-style with a speculum, place a suction ring on your eye, and basically make you lie there and hold still while a laser reshapes your cornea. Creepy. Effective, but creepy.

Even with the (very expensive) surgery, there's no guarantee of 20-20 vision. Later in life, I would probably still need reading glasses. But in the long run, it would probably save me money. Contacts and glasses aren't cheap (especially if you have astigmatism and your prescription isn't available commercially), and I have to replace my contacts every month, my glasses every year or two. My doctor (aka Greatest Optometrist Ever Dr. Jim Pyeatt) thinks it would be worthwhile for me, so I think I'm going to go for it.

(For anyone wondering, my contact lens prescription is around -9.5. I think my eyesight is something like 20/1,000).