As the title stated, Leslie (Salma Gundy) got her eyes fixed last Monday. What a trip. Leslie can now see better than 20/20.
Our adventure began about two weeks ago when Leslie had misplaced her glasses again. I urged her to check out the Laser surgery. Her sister Sharon had it done awhile ago and we have been hearing about Dr. Manger of Saddleback Eye Center on KFI AM 640 for a looooong time.
Leslie did in fact call and we got an appointment just a few days later on Monday October 1st. We were set. The Saddleback Eye Center booked us a room for Tuesday night since we would be traveling quite a distance and she needed to been checked out the next day. We decided that we should grab a room for Sunday night since we did not want to get up too early on Monday and we wanted Leslie to be well rested for the big day.
They told Leslie that the consultation would take about 2 and a half hours. Once they
determined whether Leslie was a candidate, they said that the surgery itself would only take a few minutes. Hard to believe.
Anyhow, we showed up Monday morning after a nervous night's sleep and a good breakfast. The waiting room was nice. Set up kind of like a mini movie theater--rows of chair with a large TV on the wall playing "The Best of Johnny Carson." This show was interspersed with video testimonials of Dr. Manger's work.
The staff was very very pleasant and good natured. We filled out the obligatory paperwork and then waited for a very short while. Leslie was called back and had the custom fingerprint of her eye done. Apparently, this is a scan that check out off of your eyes'
issues--inside and out. We both then went in to a room, but not before they did a topographic scan of her eyes. This scan laid out all of the hills and valleys of the cornea. It looked like a Twilight Zone device.
Once in the room staff came in and did some standard eye exam stuff. We found out that Leslie's eyes were at 20/80 in one eye and 20/2200 in the other. That means that what she sees at 20 feet the average person sees at 2200 feet. Well, I can tell you, I can't see shit at that distance.
After many redundant tests by Dr.s Sciarra and Nguyan and many eye drops that stung and dilated and washed your car, they determined that Leslie was a viable candidate. Leslie was far sighted and had a astigmatism in her eyes. No problem.
Dr. Manger, a tall, mild mannered man, came in for the final check and gave the green light. The surgery would happen. Nervous excitement filled us both. Would Leslie really not have to be tethered to glasses for the rest of her life?
We went and grabbed a small bit of lunch from a small sandwich shop in a nearby building and then made our way back.
There was beautiful blond woman working at the eye center (I didn't get her name) who informed us that I needed to do all of the housework for 3 months after the surgery. I smiled and thought, at least one of us will be doing work then...
We filled out a little questionnaire and took a test one some info we read. It may seem silly and a lot of this was redundant information, but I appreciated the thoroughness and attention to not only get the best result possible from the surgery but also get the patient to ensure success with after care.
After the paperwork we visited "Optical" Bob. That was a nickname given to Bob, the great guy who sells the sunglasses and other glasses needed. He let us browse and we found a nice pair of sunglasses that only cost one testicle. Well, there went my last one so she
better not lose these. Bob was really helpful and he and I sat and chatted while they took Leslie in for prep.
THIS WAS ALL HAPPENING ON THE SAME DAY!!!
There was a little room adjacent to the glasses are that they showed the surgeries on a big screen TV. I was about to watch my beautiful wife have her eye cut up.
All of the sudden the screen came to life with the biggest bluest most jacked up dilated eyeball known to man. Her eyes were secured like Malcolm McDowell's in A Clockwork Orange. There were two little purple ink marks on either side of her cornea. In the middle of the screen was a targeting array that looked straight out of Star Trek. There were lit up alien symbols and configurations. I knew it; this is not of this earth.
Now apparently they already had scored her cornea in another room with a different laser. Then a large set of fingers and a metal tool that looked like a key used to open a can of sardines began sliding under and prying the cornea loose. Watching this made parts of me manhood hurt. Once the cornea was pried open it was folded over and then the laser went to work. It sort of flashed a little and glowed and then some smoldering took place. Then, it was done. The cornea was folded back and then smoothed down with a small sponge brush sort of thing and thick drops were put over the eye (I think it was super glue, but none confirmed this). Then the next eye.
The whole procedure took less than 2 minutes per eye. It was amazing and gross and awesome and sick all at the same time.
Once it was over, I went out and paid for the sunglasses and sat down and pulled my book out. No sooner had I done so, Leslie walked out. She was wearing a pair of big black goggles. She looked like Abe Sapien from Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic book.
We left, got to our hotel and took a nap. It was now approximately 2:30ish. We arrived at the Saddleback Eye Center at 8:45. If all was good, within that short time frame Leslie's life was changed forever.
Leslie was told to rest her eyes for about 4 hours (take a nap). I was feeling sympathy pains so I joined her. When we got up later, though the murky gray tint of the goggles, Leslie could see the clock numbers--clearly. Already Leslie was seeing without her glasses.We relaxed the rest of the evening and watched a little TV, awaiting the next day. We had to be back at Saddleback Eye Center at 7:45 the next morning.We got up and Leslie saw the world anew. Though still having to wear the goggles for protection, the differences were already showing themselves. Leslie could see the details of the leaves in the trees. She could see the cars in the distance. Hell, she could see.We arrived and were greeted pleasantly. All who had their surgeries the day before were there wearing their goggles or sunglasses. We arrived a little early and while folks were still shuffling in, a video on after care of playing on the big TV on the wall. At 7:45 sharp, Sara, an employee came out and started going over the aftercare and running through all of the different eye drops that were in the care packages each person got. All of the rules for aftercare and warnings were given and answers were provided. Everyone was placed into an exam room and the doctors came in and checked vision and did cursory exams. Leslie' eyes, less than 24 hours after the surgery were at 20/20 in both eyes and were likely to get even better as they healed.
Doctor Manger came in and did the final check. He asked questions as to aftercare and then availed himself to any questions or concerns. After that, we were done. Leslie had perfect vision.
Leslie will have to go back in 6 months and then a year. The first two weeks there are a ton of eye drops to take. There are antibiotic drops and regular saline as well as drops to stimulate tear production. For the next year, there will be a lot of saline drops. The more the better. After that...don't get poked in the eye.
Now, let me tell you, if you are nervous, this group is phenomenal. There are very few moments that the patient is left alone. All of the staff is friendly and accommodating. Each person working there was able to administer drops when needed, so there was no, "we will get someone" sort of waiting. The staff was sociable and attentive. AND, they all knew their stuff. I recommend them to anyone who wants to see without glasses.
It has been one week without glasses for Leslie and it is like a Christmas present. She can see the details that she had been missing for the last 25 years. And I get to see her beautiful eyes unimpeded.
If you get hold of Dr. Manger at Saddleback Eye Center, tell them that Leslie and Bryan Dunn sent you.
Well, I finally broke down and gave my consent for a tattoo for my wife. The only 
