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Look, Mom, no contacts!
McCalls, April, 2000
by Jessica Snyder Sachs
 One morning when I was in fifth grade, I woke up and everything was blurry. I hoped the problem would be temporary,but months went by and my vision was still out of focus. My grades went down because I couldn't see the blackboard properly. Finaly I had a mandatory eye examination at school. When the nurse asked me to read the chart, I couldn't make out the letters. Little did I know the school would send the test results to my parents.
My mother asked why I hadn't told her about my eyes, and I couldn't answer her. The real reason was that my older sister, Louise, wore glasses. People were always saying they couldn't see her eyes, which gave me the impression you just weren't as pretty if you wore glasses. I thought my mom would be double disappointed if I had to wear them too.
I kept these feelings to myself, even when my mother took me to be fitted for glasses. I hated the pale-blue frames I got and refused to wear them. When I went to camp that summer (an all-girls' camp), I gradually began to wear my glasses because I realized how much better I could see when I did activities. This lasted unitl school started in the fall.
 On my first day back, Andy, a boy I had a crush on, called me four-eyes. That was it! I never wore my glasses again except to sneak a quick look at the blackboard. All of junior high and most of high school were a total fog. The other kids thought I was a snob because I would ignore them in the halls, but I really couldn't see them.
This agony went on until I was 16, the earliest age my eye doctor said I could get contact lenses. I loved them and wore them for years, yet there was a downside. I'm physically active to the max. I run six to eight miles every day and often compete in races, including the New York City Marathon. I ride a bike to my job as a food editor at McCall's. I also use it to get to photo shoots, as well as for going shopping and to the movies and just about everywhere else I go. No matter how careful I've been, I've still scratched my cornea when dirt has gotten under my lens. I've lost contacts in the swimming pools, down sink drains, on the beach, even just standing on a street corner. On vacation I've had to bring a ton of stuff: prescription glasses, prescription sunglasses, regular sunglasses, an extra pair of contacts and lens solution.
Life would be wonderful, I thought, without such annoyances. Three years ago, after watching a news segment on laser surgery, which corrects eyesight by using ultra-powerful light beams to reshape the cornea, I started to believe it was actually possible. But my eye doctor said there's always some risk with any surgery, and since I could wear contacts I shouldn't have it. That was discouraging.
Also, the cost seemed steep--$5,500, which my insurance didn't cover. But when I figured out how much I would need to sped on contacts, solution and glasses for the rest of my life, laser surgery began to seem like a good investment. I vowed that when the surgery had been perfected I'd look into it again. As time went on, friends who'd had the procedure encouraged, and when my sister-in-law, my niece and a friend all had it done and raved about the results, I decided to go ahead.
From their descriptions, it sounded like no big deal: First you have your eyes checked to see if you're a good candidate; two weeks later, after a 15-minutes procedure your vision is corrected to 20/25 or 20/20, and could improve more. My own case would not be quite that simple, I learned from Dana Morschauser, the optometrist who did my preliminary exam at TLC The Laser Center in New York City. She said that because I had always worn hard or gas-permeable contacts, which change the shape of the cornea, it could take up to six months without lenses before my eyes would be ready for the surgery. The thought of wearing glasses for that long was daunting. Then she told me I could switch to soft contact lenses while I waited. I immediately went out and bought a six-month supply.
 Two months later, I met Mark Speaker, M.D., the ophthalmologist who would perform the procedure. Quite a few people I knew had recommended Dr. Speaker, the medical director of TLC, as one of the best doctors in New York City. He was warm and personable, and I immediately felt comfortable with him. After the exam, he t old me it was still too soon to do the surgery-my eyes hadn't gone back to their natural shape. I was disappointed but determined. In two more months it was a go-the words I had been waiting to hear. Dr. Speaker explained the procedure and what to expect (see "A Closer Look at Laser Surgery," p. 60). He assured me there would be no pain-it would feel as if I was having a bad-contact-lens day. Afterward I'd need to wait three days before I could run and bike ride. And no makeup for one week.
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