PRK Lasik

I should have known when the doctor described the procedure as painful that what he really meant was excruciating.

Last week I decided that I needed to use my flexible spending funds and actually get my cheap Filipino lasik at a fraction of the cost with amazing Harvard trained doctors and facilities (not from Harvard, but nice).

Because I have intensely terrible eyes (-9.5 in each eye), I was not a very good candidate for the standard painless lasik. Apparently they would have to shave too much cornea. Instead, the doctor recommended the PRK lasik, a slower recovery but the same results. He did mention pain but somehow that didn't quite register. I just wanted perfect eyes.

I went into the procedure with a vicadin. It didn't do enough to chill me out. The worst part of all is even with the anesthesia I could tell something not good was happening to my eye. They cut it and then lasered it. When I left I felt like my eyes had been violated somehow.

I spend the next four days in excruciating pain in a dark room. I couldn't read, watch TV, or even sleep well. I simply focused on not moving my eyeballs. It hurt too much. Slowly they started healing and one week later I was not 20/20 but good enough to get around. It has now been 10 days and I feel like I am pretty close to 20/20. The pain is gone and it is amazing.

The only way I describe how painful it was is my childbirth. I had a cesarean and afterwards was not given any strong narcotics (the Philippines is shy about buzz drugs, very annoying when you get surgery). Upon that recovery I felt every stitch, the eye surgery was like they had cut my eye, sprinkled sand, and forced a contact on top. Absolutely awful, but I might do it again. Things are looking really clear.

Balls and Car Bombs

The Philippines has been quite a whirlwind of events lately. There was a massacre of over 50 people in the South. Even more horrifying is that the group consisted of women and journalists. What could evoke such a reaction? An intention to run for governor. Democracy.

There are a few moments in my life where the news on TV has shaken my soul and I realize that this is not just TV, it is real and it is pain. I think almost everyone felt that in September eight years ago; I felt it when I saw the massive flooding just 10 miles away and saw people being washed away from the flood. I felt that again when I saw the news that showed graphic images of those killed in the Maguindinao massacre.

Sometimes life feels so normal here. The malls are mall-like, stores are the same (minus the clearance section of the gap), there are the occasional parks and green areas (although few and far between) and then I turn on the TV and see what is going on, and it blows my mind!

Today I got a call from a friend who was really shaken up. She has been to a high-end mall less than a five-minute walk from my home. She heard an explosion and saw a car had blown up. The guards all ran to get fire extinguishers. The driver could not get out and was flailing his arms. She screamed to have someone help him but they were too focused on extinguishing the fire in the back. The man burned to death. They say it was not a car bomb but last I checked Honda CRVs are not just spontaneously combusting.

In another "not in Kansas" moment, we attended the consular ball several weeks ago. This is the event where many of the local consuls or Filipinos appointed to represent another country, attend. Many of the consuls have yet to actually visit the country they are appointed to represent but that doesn't make it any less of a big deal here.

It was fun to go to another ball and get another dress made by Oliver Tolentino. Oliver is now a hot shot in L.A. with a boutique on Melrose and showing in L.A. Fashion Week, but he has worked with me enough now that he knows what I like and it is awesome. I love his style, colors, clothes and ability to make me look good when I am not a size zero or six feet tall.

The ball was a showing of the Filipino elite, and us middle-class Americans. This makes for an interesting dichotomy. It was a great time and I was on a mission to find the best Filipina wear with the best sleeves. I think I succeeded. See below.