A new pair of eyes (My ICL journey)

TBH, I’d never even heard of ICL before my eye evaluation back in July. All I knew was that I desperately wanted to ditch my specs and contact lenses. After returning from my trip to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, I realized just how much I was over the hassle of them.

So, what is ICL?

It stands for Implantable Collamer/contact Lens— a surgery that places permanent lenses in your eyes to correct refraction errors like myopia, astigmatism, hyperopia, and even presbyopia. It felt like a game-changer huh! 😄

Surgery Day: October 26, 2024, 8AM

Looking back at my surgery day, I can still feel the mix of excitement and anxiety bubbling inside me. The thrill of knowing I would leave the hospital with a new pair of eyes was overwhelming, but I also felt those familiar jitters about the unknown.

The day began early (really early). I had to wake up at 5AM! After a quick wash-up, I started my eye drop marathon (I was instructed to dilate my eyes at 6AM!) I kept dosing myself with eyedrops while catching a cab to the hospital. Talk about multitasking! 🤭

Once I arrived, I was led to a private room—my temporary waiting and resting area. After changing into a disposable surgical gown and putting away my belongings (that was a bittersweet farewell to my glasses), my vision turned into a blur. It was surreal!

In that private room, my nurse continued to administer eyedrops for further dilation. Then my Dr came in to check my eyes and perform some “measurements”— thankfully, I had numbing drops to ease the process.

P.S. here I am on my post-op D7, feeling relief and still adjusting with my new set of eyes. So it’s time to rest them a bit more. I’ll keep updating as I go along!