Comments | blk: [eyes] I see with new sight the infinite night, drunk on the wine of paradise

blk

[eyes] I see with new sight the infinite night, drunk on the wine of paradise

Dec 02, 2003 10:53

Yes, I'm still rambling about this. This time there's a bit of philosophical mumbles thrown in for good measure. I have tossed my journal entries from this journey onto a website; you can find it here. It's a little messy on the HTML front, still, but it's mostly complete, so feel free to point anybody interested in reading about my experience to ( Read more... )

lasik

Comments 8

tikva December 2 2003, 08:22:48 UTC

It sounds fascinating!

I don't have any real desire to be able to see, except for curiosity. I think it'd be wicked cool to be able to wake up one morning fully sighted, just for the day, to see what the world looks like to other people.

On the other hand, I don't mind too much that I don't know what I'm missing. :)

blk December 2 2003, 08:28:34 UTC

Sometimes I think that if my vision wasn't fully correctable, I wouldn't have wanted it fixed so much. I did know what I was missing. Every time I put on or took off my glasses or contacts, I knew, because the contrast was there, to me. And I hated both of them, extensively, and not even remotely just because it reminded me that my eyes sucked. Both glasses and contacts are on "necessary evil" list for me for multiple reasons. So getting the same vision without them as I used to have with them while suffering is mega-cool.

puzzle_ December 2 2003, 08:48:51 UTC

Not being able to see since I was 5, possibly even before that. I sympathize fully. I would love to wake up one morning, to be able to see. To be able to fall asleep with the TV and not worry I have not taken my glasses off!

I am so glad that this op has went well for you.

An option for me? I don't think so too scared. I will keep dreaming for now. Besides my glasses are very much a part of who I am. My security blanket as it were.

nathanw December 2 2003, 10:04:34 UTC

My glasses have also become a security blanket for me, and part of my persona - it makes a point to look at someone over the top of my glasses. Sometimes I've had pictures taken with my glasses off (hmm, including my user icon here) and I definitely think that those pictures represent someone else.

The key difference I read in your experience and mine is your desire to see unaided. For some reason, I don't have that desire.. and I got glasses later in life than you did.

(Perhaps there is some sour grapes going on, too. I have no idea how many years it will take for my vision to stop deteriorating and stabilize on something that could be usefully corrected).

blk December 2 2003, 10:21:33 UTC

My firm opinion is that if (general) you are content with your current form of correction, there's absolutely no reason to make any drastic changes. I was eager for this because I hated the other options.

For what it's worth, my eyes degenerated steadily for 10 years until I got my contact lenses, which somehow managed to stop it.

plymouth December 2 2003, 10:52:55 UTC

yah, I was never bothered by my eyes going bad. it started in junior high. it stabalized sometime in college. I can still, in a pinch, drive without my glasses, though I can't pass the eye test so legally I shouldn't. And I look at blk's list of costs for the operation and I say "$3500?! For $3500 I could buy a 58 caddy to restore! and that wouldn't HURT!". It's all about priorities :)

ywong December 2 2003, 21:58:29 UTC

Just stop believing in God for awhile, and if you go blind, then you'll know it was God. Otherwise, technology.

Miracle... rjpb December 3 2003, 21:34:27 UTC

Maybe it's time to re-examine my spirituality.

While your experience may not qualify as a miracle in traditional views, I see no reason not to believe that Providence guided the events leading to your improved sight. What led you to hope and pray for better vision? What led the development of Lasik technology? What led your ophthalmologist to pursue his career? What led to the success of your surgery? What led to your appreciation of your new sight? A miracle need not have a physical effect, but can have a moral effect instead.

In the Catholic view, "The truth that God is at work in all the actions of his creatures is inseparable from faith in God the Creator. God is the first cause who operates in and through secondary causes." In other words, the divine plan is carried out through ordinary people and circumstances in all we do, driving the universe toward a goal of perfection. By our choices, we can freely participate in this journey or not. Your improved sight could be an opportunity to serve better in this way.