Last Night at Work and Lasik Eye Surgery

Wednesday night was my last night at work. It was sort of bittersweet. I know that I am going to love being home with Clayton, but I am going to miss my friends at work as well as that part of my identity. Being a nurse has been such a big part of how I define who I am. I will still keep my license current, so I will always be an RN. I am just not going to be practicing for the next few years.

Anyway... everyone at work was so nice to me on my last night. We celebrated in true night shift fashion with a "Dog Night." YUM! :) Everyone brings hot dogs, chili, chips & dips, and goodies to pig out on at midnight. Everyone participated and there was so much good food. There were even four different cakes. I definitely felt loved. :) I will never be able to eat a chili dog again without thinking of all those nights that we celebrated in the lounge. My friend, Sunni, even brought me a gift. She got me this huge activity book of projects and crafts to do with Clayton. She also got me a book called "1001 things every child should see or do." The card on the present was one of those singing cards. It sang, "Take this job and shove it" when you opened it. Hilarious!!!

On another note, I had Lasik eye surgery today. We had money in our flexible spending account that had to be used by the 30th and I had always wanted to have it done. So... I decided to go for it. Let me tell you - I am sure that the end result will be worth it, but it was a stinky process. The consultation alone took almost 4 hours. It was a "cattle call" to say the least. We were herded from one room to the next like a bunch of cattle. Today, during the surgery, it was the same type of thing. Whatever... I guess that they have to work a system to keep everything moving quickly and to treat many patients at once. The problem is that it is very impersonal and they don't explain what they are going to do before they do it. Case in point, I was sitting in a chair waiting for the surgery portion to begin. They ushered me to another chair and told me to lay down with my eyes closed. They next thing I know, this guy is prying my eyes open to put more drops in them. A few minutes past and he did the same thing. He never said a word. So, I said, "Is this where you are going to make the flap?" He said yes. A few minutes later they told me to open my eyes and look at the 8 lights. Then they put something on my eyelids to keep them open, put a suction cup on my eyes, then I felt the laser cutting my eye (OUCH!!!), and everything went black. I was so upset. I said, "OUCH! That really hurt. I wish that I would have had some warning!" They said, "Don't move a muscle, not even your legs." Then they did the same thing to the other eye. It wasn't as bad, because I knew what to expect. When they were finished with that part, I was so mad and upset that I started to cry. They told me that that was the worst part. I was fuming inside and said, "I sure hope so."

I know that they have a lot of patients, but is it really too much to ask for them to warn you before they slice a portion of your eye?!?!? I feel a scathing letter coming on...

I can see almost perfectly already, though. So, hopefully it will all be worth it. I can't wear makeup for a week. They also said that I am not allowed to wash my face for a week (whatever!). I also have these AWESOME goggles that I have to wear whenever I am outside and when I am in the shower. That's right... I know I look hot. :)

I am also posting a video of Clayton riding his tricycle. He has gotten really good at it. :) If only he would look up instead of looking at his feet pedaling. :) He is going to crash bad. It is only a matter of time.

Sorry for the long post!!! It's been a busy week. :)