Getting ready to "go under the laser"

I've thought about it for years, and finally have scheduled to have laser vision-correction surgery...tomorrow (May 31st). The shape of my cornea and correction needed precludes me from having Lasik, so I will be having PRK instead. Lasik is where they make a small incision into the cornea, flap it back, correct the cornea & lay the flap back down...relatively painless recovery, and your vision is near perfect right away. PRK is older, but safer for my cornea shape and damage...they have to cut off the epithelial tissue off the cornea (the outside layer of skin), correct the cornea, place a contact for protection for 4 days, and I spend the next few days on Percocet and Ambien "trying to sleep as much as possible" while I grow my epithelial skin layer back. It is a bit more painful, and takes a bit longer before my vision will be perfect, but once the recovery period is over, I feel confident that I will love it.

I am relatively calm going into it. My biggest fear is actually being awake and looking into the laser while they do the procedure. I have a reflex that makes my eye dart around or my eyelid close when something is coming directly at my eye. I hope to overcome that fear with relaxation techniques, and Valium. :-D It should be entertaining!

The things I will be able to do after I fully recover, which I cannot do easily now include WEARING SUNGLASSES, swimming and playing at water-parks without a personal guide, snorkeling without having to find a weird mask to correct my vision, and traveling without worrying about if I lose or break my glasses in a foreign place. Those are just a few... :-)

I will keep you updated on the progress (once I'm well enough to read my computer screen again)!