Page 24 - The Freckled Eye - Book

for me. I’d just stress out about it and over think it. So right before a procedure or
whatever I was nervous about, I’d wait to ask what to expect. In this situation, it was
the best decision.

Dr. Phan said it was going to be like an eye exam, they’d dilate my eyes, I’d
press my face up to the eye machine and then she’d shoot a laser into my
eye. The laser would be used approximately 10 to 15 times to completely
cover the tumors area.

Since I had the Cold Laser Treatment, the procedure, she described, sounded
similar to what I’d had done before. I then asked Dr. Phan if the Hot Laser
would hurt. She said that some patients reported no feeling and some
reported some discomfort. So, I basically took that as, I’d know what to
expect when it happened.

Before Dr. Phan started, mom took a seat in the corner of the room by the
door. It was comforting to have her there. I was ready. Dr. Phan said she
was going to begin the process. I sat still in the chair, hardly breathing so that
I wouldn’t move too much. My face pressed up to the eye machine, chin in
the chin rest, just like the other times before. This time I felt Dr. Phan put a
disk like lens between the machine and the laser. I’m not exactly sure what
that was, but I think it gave her better magnification inside the eye. She said
she was going to try a couple of test spots to make sure she had her settings
right. She said ok, we’re ready to start. A quiet uh huh came from out of my
mouth. Dr. Phan began. As I waited for the first zap, I could hear her foot
step on something, like a foot pedal of an old sewing machine. Once I heard
that I waited. Nothing at first, then I felt a sensation as if something was
blowing a bubble inside my eye. Like when you’d chew gum and blow a
bubble. It felt like a constant stream pushing inward toward the back of my
eye, then at the end of that session it would expand. Then it would slowly
contract, just like when you blow a bubble and before it would pop, it slowly
contracted.

During the expansion and contraction there was a bit of a burn like
sensation. Then it went away. It was a bit painful, but not terrible. Doctor
Phan told me we’d do this process about 13 to 15 more times, taking a small
break between each of them. Each session seemed to last about 10 to 15
seconds. It went quickly.

Finally, she was done. I thought for sure I’d need to cover my eye with an eye
patch or wear a pair of special sunglasses, but she said no. You can basically
go back to normal activity. Really? I thought. I then told Dr. Phan I was in