"This is absurd," I muttered—fumbling for a pair of eyeglasses that I mindfully placed on the nightstand before bed. It was in or around May of 2000, and the pace of life rendered me too preoccupied to timely order another supply of disposable contact lenses. "Alright, this is insufferable—where are these things?" I blurted out as I sat at the edge of the bed. "They must have dropped to the carpet," I reasoned--squinting to survey the floor. As I pitiably crouched down to the carpet searching for the mislaid specs, I self-lectured: "You're way too young for this episode—do something!" And then, under the weight of my right knee, the eyeglasses were found—now, in several pieces.

Near-blind, I reached for the telephone to dial my secretary's voicemail: "Maria, please clear my schedule today and offer whatever apologies and pleasantries you deem appropriate—something came up, and I won't be in."

Earlier that week, I placed the LASIK advertisement in my desk drawer in the den--"No, I'm just going to be a walk-in," I resolved. I showered, dressed, and returned to the den. Unable to safely drive, I called the local cab service: "Yes, I would like to be at Kremer Eye Center in Cherry Hill within the next hour or so, can you send someone over?" "Sure thing," the dispatcher responded.

The weather that day was perfect—so, I reached for my wallet, checkbook, poured a glass of lemonade, and decided to sit on the deck as I waited for the cab to arrive. "Is it possible that this technology can really restore my vision," I wondered skeptically. "If someone could promise me 20/20 vision again, I'd pay $5,000, $10,000---$20,000," I negotiated with myself. "I can't even make out the flowerbeds from here," I lamented. "Maybe it was that black computer screen with the yellow alphanumerics that I had years ago," I theorized. "I can't even identify the make and model of any of these cars—my own car," I grumbled. "Who am I fooling, I can't even make out my condo number—5 feet away," I thought.

As the yellow car approached, I gathered my belongings, descended the stairs and entered the rear passenger side of the cab. "Good morning--Kremer Eye Center on Haddonfield Road," I said. "Oh, okay, you gonna get that laser surgery," he asked. "Maybe, I hope to get a walk-in evaluation today. If not, we can just circle back," I replied. "Is laser surgery safe?" the cabbie inquired. "At this juncture, I'll take my chances. I'm practically blind—probably legally so--what could they do to me?" I responded rhetorically. "Anyway, Kremer is supposedly the area leader in LASIK," I asserted. As we entered the parking lot, I settled up and said: "Give me 10 minutes or so."

I approached the reception counter: "Good morning, I'm hoping to be evaluated for LASIK." A congenial woman promptly emerged from behind the counter and extended her hand: "Hello, if you join me in my office, I'll explain our procedures and services," she said. As I sat down in one of her guest chairs, she handed me a business card—my recollection is that her title may have included the word "sales." She was not into her second sentence before it was hopelessly clear that she was the pitch(wo)man. "Pardon me, I don't mean to interrupt, but I'm already sold," I said. Nonplussed, she asked: "You're already sold?" "Yes, I'm so nearsighted that I can no longer identify someone's gender without contact lenses or glasses—even when, like you, they are just 5 feet away," I said. She sympathetically responded: "I understand. Assuming that you don't have a disqualifying astigmatism we could schedule your surgery relatively soon—during the next few weeks even," she explained. "When do you think that you'd like to have the procedure?" she asked. "Tomorrow," I replied. "Well, this is definitely a first, but if you're serious, Dr. Carol Smith is performing LASIK here tomorrow. Why don't we test your vision, examine your eyes, and have her speak with you?" she asked. I answered: "Terrific, this was my hope all along--I just need to go release my cab."

(Part II CLICK HERE)

Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2300097/lasik_surgery_a_testimo...