LASIK : Patient Experiences
School Bus Chief Now Has Excellent Vision
Derek Graham, the man who keeps the school buses running in North Carolina has a new outlook on his job.Derek Graham, head of the school transportation division in the state Department of Public Instruction, produced an essay that won free laser vision correction surgery from Dr. Dwight Perry in Durham.
His winning entry, chosen from 400+ submissions, is printed with this article. Now Derek Graham can see the finest detail on his beloved school buses without the need for corrective lenses.
As it turns out, Derek Graham will be an excellent spokesman for the procedure in the months to come.
"I went in for the surgery at 3:30 p.m. on a Tuesday," he recalls. "As I was preparing for the surgery, I asked the nurse how bad my vision was. She said, 'Well, you can see the big E on the chart at four feet.' Which means that my vision without contacts or glasses was about 20:800. Believe me, when I looked at the world with uncorrected vision, it was a mighty blur except for very up-close objects."
"The surgery went quickly, smoothly, and without pain or discomfort. I went home and took a nice Valium nap, and went to bed early. I'll never forget that first morning. I got up and was standing in the shower reading the shampoo bottle! 'Oh,' I said to myself, 'there are words on the bottle!'"
"Then I was off to the State Fair Grounds to set up our exhibit for the fair that started two days later. I was feeling great! Did I need sunglasses? No! Did I have side effects of any kind? No! It was simply amazing. I could see, up close, far off, without glasses or lenses of any kind! It was just a whole new world. I still reach for my glasses out of habit-but I'm going to let go of that habit real soon!"
Dr. Perry is one of the region's most experienced ophthalmologists in performing laser vision correction surgery, and was among the first surgeons to perform the LASIK procedure when it won approval for safety and effectiveness from the FDA.
"The results of the surgery are very, very impressive," he says, "with better than 99 percent of our patients moving through the procedure to attain vision of 20:40 or better-which is the level of vision required to have a driver's license without corrective lenses. In truth, most of our patients attain 20:20 vision, and most return to their normal activities within a day of the operation."
With the LASIK procedure, Dr. Perry explains, amazingly precise instruments are used to reshape the cornea of the eye. "When correcting for nearsightedness-where distance vision is blurry-we use the laser to flatten the cornea ever so slightly. When correcting for farsightedness, tissue is removed around the edges of the cornea, increasing the curvature of the eye. And quite remarkably, we're also able to use LASIK to correct the astigmatic eye, as well. With astigmatism, the front of the cornea is not equally curved-it is slightly oval, much like the shape of a football. Light rays that enter the eye are unequally bent and result in distortion of image. LASIK is an important new tool to correct that condition," the doctor finds.
Derek Graham's sincerity in seeking better vision is evident in his winning essay, which said in part: They say life begins at 40. Well-I'm ready to begin!!
I turned 40 last month and I have worn glasses or contacts since elementary school. I can only imagine how great it would be to set them aside and see the world through MY eyes-in the morning, at night, during hay fever season, in the rain, in the snow! Why should I win the complementary LASIK procedure and be Dr. Perry's spokesperson? Very simply, I long to see my wife, my son, my daughter-my LIFE-as I deserve to see them-without the assistance of some artificial lens! Here are just a few examples:
- My daughter Elizabeth comes into my bedroom early one morning to tell me the tooth fairy left her a dollar. "See?" she says, proudly holding up the bill. Well, no I can't. So the moment-and it's a quick one-is lost while I scramble for my glasses to catch a glimpse of that excited, toothless smile.
- I am camping with my son Scott. It's a clear night and there are stars everywhere. The perfect way to fall asleep on a night like this is to lie on our backs and look through the window of the tent at the stars and make up our own constellations. But it's not perfect, because I can't SEE the stars without my glasses, and I can't fall asleep while watching constellations because I must first stow my glasses in some safe place. Another moment lost.
- I'm out in the woods playing Paintball with the guys. I'm trapped behind a fallen tree trying to find the "other guys" through the fogged-up goggles and glasses. Needless to say, the "other guys" can see me and I am pelted with paintballs-dead till the next game.
- My wife Laura Lee calls me at the office one day. Our lunchtime volleyball league has a makeup game today and she needs me to play. But, that morning I woke up late and put on my glasses instead of taking time for my contacts. I decline, opting instead to stay inside and eat a leftover ham sandwich, because playing volleyball with my glasses on is more trouble than it's worth.
It's little things like these that I have to live with because of my vision. What a MIRACLE that this can now be corrected. If you are looking for a spokesman, I'm your man!! I studied the procedure on Dr. Perry's web page and am convinced this is for me. I can't wait to TELL THE WORLD that I'm seeing how great it is to have good vision. Dr. Perry - Thank you for sponsoring this contest and for giving those of us with poor vision a chance to reflect on how wonderful it would be to be relieved of that burden.
Sincerely, Derek Graham
