Eye Surgery

I never could wear contacts. The astigmatism in my left eye was so bad that the contact wouldn't form correctly to the steep curvature of my corneas. My eyes were dry all the time and sometimes when I blinked, my eyelid would pull the contact with it. I had given up totally on contacts, and probably for the last 15 years I've just lived with the inconveniences of glasses.

I finally felt about a year ago that technology had advanced enough that I should really consider lasik surgery. It's been about a year now since I had lasik surgery and I thought I would report on my progress so far.

I can honestly say it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. But it didn't come without some sacrifices. The first few months after surgery were somewhat painful and quite uncomfortable, mostly because my eyes were really dry all the time. My doctor (Optometrist Dr. Michael West, 801-572-3937) told me to use heavy eye drops 10 - 15 times per day during the first 6 - 8 weeks after surgery so healing would occur properly. Other than that, I have no other major side effects. Some people report cloudy vision or halos around bright white lights especially at night. I experience halos a bit in the morning right after I wake up, but it goes away after about an hour after I put eye drops in.

My vision before surgery was 20/400 in my left eye and 20/200 in my right eye. Since I'm "middle aged" now (yikes!), Dr. West tells me I will start to have trouble focusing on things close up, and eventually I'll need reading glasses. I've started to notice it a bit already.

My left eye still doesn't tear correctly, and probably never will at this point. This means I need eye drops regularly (usually once per day in the morning). My right eye has no tearing problems, and I have perfect vision in that eye. Vision in my left eye has stabilized to about 20/25, and is usually worse if I don't use eye drops in the morning.

Dr. West recommended the Lasik Vision Center on 4400 S. 700 E. in SLC. I would highly recommend Dr. West for the pre- and post-op exams and follow-ups, as well as the Lasik Vision Center for the surgery. The cost was reasonable--about $1800 for both eyes. I know this is expensive by the standard of bargain lasik centers, but I didn't want to take what I felt was a higher risk by going to the corner five-and-dime.

And best of all, I am glasses-free for the first time since high school! Now where are my skiis?

Main Street

I thought this was kind of an interesting picture of Main Street in Salt Lake City looking North towards Temple Square. The white building on the left, the much unfrequented Crossroads mall, will soon be torn down to make room for the new City Creek Center project. In all, about 20 acres of demolition and reconstruction will occur over the next 5 years. Beneath the place I'm standing will be a large underground parking lot. Total project cost: ~ $1 Billion!

Big Squash

We grew this banana squash in our garden this year. The squash weighs about 30 pounds. Baked banana squash with brown sugar and a dab of butter is mighty tasty!

My Favorite Place

Over Labor day, I took the kids to the Uinta mountains. We hiked up the Leidy Peak trail about 3 miles. I'm planning next year to hike to the top of Leidy Peak, which is about 13,000 feet above sea level. It's not the highest point in Utah, which is King's Peak at 13560 feet, but the Leidy Peak trail has much less foot traffic and is every bit just as beautiful.

It's fairly rugged hiking through the downed timber until you get to "the meadow" near our usual camp site.