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H EALTH
Affording the best is not the
question...finding the best is.
A first .. .
Apartment living in a
Skilled Nursing Facility
For the discriminating person
requiring an elegant environment
Bortz
Health Care
Family owned and operated for over 33 years
Medicare approved
CALL
363-4121
For our limousine to pick you up for a personal tour of our facility.
6470 Alden Drive, Orchard Lake
DIETS DESIGNED
FOR
YOUR LIFESTYLE
THE DETRO I T J EWIS H N EWS
eS
F20
• individualized counseling
• permanent weight loss,
low cholesterol,
low sodium, diabetic
• sensible, non-fad approach
Farmbrook Medical Two
Southfield
354-4450
Gail F. Posner, M.S.
Registered Dietitian
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FITNESS
HEALTH
FITNESS
F-1 EALTI-1
A NEW LOOK
my prescription and the de-
gree of my myopia (near-
sightedness), as well as the
state of my healthy corneas,
would likely yield good re-
sults.
He also explained that all
patients do not obtain 20-20
vision. Many end up with
20-30 or 20-40 (good enough
to obtain a Michigan driver's
license). I might need glass-
es for driving at night or
even for reading. R-K while
improving nearsightedness
has no affect on the lens' de-
clining ability to focus on
near objects as we age.
Also, because doctors
must be careful not to over-
correct the nearsightedness
(and thus cause farsighted-
ness in the patient), about
20 percent of the surgeries
performed require "en-
hancements." Once the eyes
have stabilized, if the de-
sired degree of correction
has not been obtained, the
doctor can go back in and
make adjustments with ad-
ditional incisions.
I scheduled my surgery
for a Thursday in December.
Although most of Dr. Mill-
man's patients have both
eyes done at once, my in-
surance company required
me to have the surgery done
one eye at a time, one week
apart.
On a snowy morning my
husband drove me to the eye
care center. We entered the
surgical waiting room. Soon
I was called in to be
"prepped."
There were four cots lined
up. The woman next to me
was from Liverpool. We
talked about the Beatles.
Sheila, the doctor's assis-
tant; is from Wales. We
talked about the break-up of
Charles and Di. The man on
the other side of me was a
sports "junkie" and felt ham-
pered by his glasses. It was
an upbeat crowd.
I was given two Valium
and a pain pill. The nurse
checked my temperature,
blood pressure and pulse.
She proceeded to put vari-
ous drops in my eye — some
to numb the eye and some to
constrict the pupil.
Before I knew it, it was
my turn. I walked into the
operating room. The lights
were bright and classical
music was piped in. An eye
clamp was placed on my up-
per and lower eyelids to
keep the eye open. My oth-
er eye was taped shut. I was
told to focus between some
lights in the microscope the
doctor was using. He made
eight radial incisions to cor-
rect my nearsightedness
and two "T" cuts to correct
my astigmatism and said I
was done. The whole oper-
ating room procedure took
less than 10 minutes and I
hadn't felt a thing.
I was given sunglasses,
some pain pills, various eye-
drops, and a couple of sleep-
ing pills for that day and
evening. I had spent just
over two hours at the center
and was on my way home.
I spent the first day keep-
ing my eye closed. Once the
numbing drops wore off, I
did experience some pain.
But the pain pills, lubricat-
ing and antibiotic drops and
cold compresses helped.
When I woke the next
morning, for the first time
in memory, I didn't have to
ask my husband what time
Dr. Millman verified
that my age, stable
prescription and
degree of myopia
would likely yield
good results.
it was. I could read the
alarm on his side of the bed.
The mild scratchiness I felt
was less bothersome than
the discomfort I'd had with
my contacts. That night I
made spaghetti for dinner
and wore no glasses to get
fogged up. Later I attended
my daughter's school play.
On Sunday I went to the
market and had no trouble
finding ingredients on the
shelves. On Monday I re-
turned to work and was able
to do my job with my one \i
corrected eye. Later in the
week, I would have R-K per-
formed on my second eye.
I know that my vision will
fluctuate for several weeks,
sometimes getting blurry in
the morning, afternoon or
evening. I know that I may
experience a "starburst" ef-
fect from lights at night for
a while. But I expect, as oth-
er R-K patients have told
me, that these minor incon-
veniences will disappear
with time.
At least for me, as far as
R-K is concerned, the "ayes"
have it. ❑