MY SAFE SIGHT TRANSPRK LASIK EYE SURGERY

January 04, 2021

Crystal Phuong- Lasik eye surgery journey

One week before Singapore went into lockdown due to Covid-19, I went to have my Lasik surgery done. It was on April 1st 2020. When I told my family that I would have my surgery done on April's Fool, everyone thought I made a joke. No pun intended. What a special day for surgery! Who would want to be the clinic or hospital right in the middle of the pandemic? I know, right? But here is the full story.

I forgot when exactly I started wearing glasses. It was probably when the doctor told me I had astigmatism with myopia during my secondary school. I didn't have any problem wearing glasses during my teenage years. Until I turned 20 years old, I started dancing and competing, and it became a problem. No dancer wore glasses on the dance floor for safety reasons, and neither did I. As a result, the only person I could see was my dance partner (I didn't know about contact lens just yet). I only learned how to wear contact lenses when I was 26 years old, and I relied on contact lenses ever since. I was able to see the audience when I performed dancing or competing. But I had to apply eye drop every 30 minutes to avoid dryness. A few times, when I went out at night and forgot to bring the eye drop, my eyes were so dry by the end of the night that I had to take the contact lenses out so that I could blink. I'm not exaggerating. Because of this, I've wanted to do Lasik surgery for nearly ten years. If you follow my blog since 2012, you'll see "Getting Lasik eye-surgery done" on my New Year resolution list since 2013.

Why didn't I do it when I was 26 years old? Well, I couldn't afford it then. It was more affordable to buy six boxes of contact lenses for $200++, which lasted for six months than to pay almost $5000-$7,000 for a 30-minute procedure. Another reason was I was skeptical. I was so afraid of the risk, side effects, and possible accident could happen. I could lose my eyesight forever. There are so many articles, comments, recommendations, blog posts on the internet. The more I read, the more I got confused. There are also so many types of Lasik surgery nowadays: LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis, PRK (photorefractive keratectomy), LASEK (laser epithelial keratomileusis), RLE (refractive lens exchange), EpiLasik, PRELEX. How would I know which one suits me? After months of researching, I decided to make an appointment with Dr. Tony Ho at Clearvision Eye Clinic & LASIK Centre. Lucky for you now, all you need to do is to read the detailed comparison that Dr. Ho wrote on his website to find out what option is most suitable for you.

I knew Dr. Tony Ho and his clinic back in 2013 when I worked in an advertising company for the medical industry. But he had already operated his clinic since 2001 and performed thousands of surgery every year. Many local media channels featured his clinic and interviewed him for the work that he had done. If you want to know more about Dr. Tony Ho and the clinic, you can read more on his clinic website here. My point is, if I was to leave my eyesight into someone's hand, I wanted to have a reputable and experienced doctor. I made the first appointment with the clinic to have my eyes tested and confirm my eyes were suitable for Lasik surgery. Multiple tests and a few types of eye-drops later, clinic staff said I could consider Safe Sight TransPRK surgery and Corneal Cross-Linking as an additional treatment to strengthen my thin corner. She also shared with me the pricing for both procedures. I already saw the pricing published on the clinic website, so there wasn't any surprise at that point. The pricing transparency of the clinic made it so easy for me to make a decision. That's why I scheduled the surgery date on the spot. Besides, since the whole country went into lock down, I couldn't go out anyway. It felt like the right time to have the surgery and rest at home.

On April 1st, I woke up early, had my breakfast, and went to the clinic to have my Safe Sight TransPRK surgery. I sounded like I was going for a brunch, didn't I? But the reality was, I was so nervous yet excited at the same time. I was going to make my ten-year dream come true. How could I not be excited!

When I arrived, the nurse did a few more tests on my eyes, applied a few anesthetic eye drops, and got me ready for the surgery. I decided to do Safe Sight TransPRK surgery and Corneal Cross-Linking (because I have thin corneal) on both eyes at once. Some patients did only one eye at a time so they could see after. I decided to do both because I didn't want to go through the same procedure twice. I'd rather endure the pain all at once.

Back to the surgery, Safe Sight TransPRK surgery is an all-laser, one-step, no-touch, non-invasive vision correction procedure that does not require the eye surgeon to cut a corneal flap. The standard LASIK (cut, flap, and zap) process might have flap-related medical complications, which are my ultimate fear. Thankfully, with the new technology, no surgical devices are touching the eye at all. Clearvision Clinic uses the Schwind Amaris 1050RS excimer laser machine with a zero-latency eye tracker and the ability to track all 7-dimensions of eye movements. The procedure on both eyes was much faster than I expected. I thought I would be lying in the surgery bed for at least 30 minutes. It turned out I was there for 15 minutes or less. First, I was asked to keep looking at the blinking green eyes. Then, the Schwind Amaris 1050RS machine removes the epithelium cells of my eyes. After that, the laser machine shapes the cornea to correct the eye's refractive power. Doctor Ho placed a transparent, high-oxygen permeability content soft contact lens over the cornea to protect the treated surface while the epithelium cells regenerate. The Corneal Cross-Linking treatment took additional two minutes to complete. Before I got comfortable in the warm bed, the nurse helped sit me up, and Doctor Ho asked me to smile for a photo. The surgery was over, just like that.

Everything was smooth, fast, and simple. The only discomfort I had was having to keep my eyes wide open for a long time, but that was it. I was still able to see when I squinted my eyes. I even booked a taxi, came home by myself, and went straight to bed, hoping to get some rest.

The pain started kicking in once I laid in bed. The numbing eye drop wore off. My eyes were so sore and watery that I had to take a pain killer. Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep at all. I lived in complete darkness for the first two days. Now I knew why some people decided to have surgery on one eye at a time, especially when they were alone. I didn't think I needed someone to bring me food and drink post-surgery. I thought I could manage, but I clearly couldn't. Thankfully, some "angels" came to rescue the poor girl. I'm lucky that I have so many kind friends around. One friend helped me order food; others came to the house to check up on me and set my daily eye drop reminders. Speaking of eye drops, I've never had so many eye drops in my entire life. There were four eye drop types that I needed to apply hourly on the first two days, and every two hourly the following three days. It was overwhelming. But everything comes with a price. That's the effort you put to have perfect eyesight.

Day 5, after surgery, I was able to walk around the house (with sunglasses on) and managed my routine. The eyes were less sore, but the vision was still blurry, and I couldn't see much. I went back to the clinic on day 5 to have the soft contact lens removed.

I barely looked at my phone, TV, or laptop and still wore sunglasses during the day to avoid direct sunlight. I was super diligent with my post-op care and followed the doctor's advice strictly.

I did not rub or squeeze my eyes, especially for the 1st week. I used eye wipes to gently clean my eyes every morning and night.
I didn't apply any makeup and eye gel or lotion for nearly three weeks.
I didn't go swimming or do any vigorous sports activities until after four weeks post-surgery.
I wore UV protected glasses when I went out. I still wear sunglasses now whenever I'm out of the house on a sunny day.

My eyes took longer than others to recover fully, so I had more reviews with Dr. Ho. I was a little nervous, and of course, impatient, but there was nothing I could do. Dr. Ho assured me that my eyes were healing beautifully, and that's all that matters.

Eight months after my eye Lasik surgery, I can finally share my personal story with you. I took the below 2 photos after my eyes were completely healed. Same Crystal, different eyes sight. Writing this blog post without the help of contactless and glasses makes me feel incredibly grateful. I'm so thankful for the smooth & successful surgery at Clearvision Eye Clinic & LASIK Centre. Special thanks to Dr. Ho & his team for their excellent work. I'm thankful for the friends who were there when I needed help the most. It was a dream come true to say goodbye to contactless and prescription glasses finally.

Officially crossed this off my bucket list.

Thank you so much for reading!

Disclaimer: Although this blog post is partially sponsored by Clearvision Eye Clinic & LASIK Centre, all opinions are my own.

BLESSED 36TH BIRTHDAY

November 23, 2020

I felt like I just celebrated my 35th birthday not so long ago, but now, I'm already 36 years old. Where has the time gone? I thought I would have a quiet, low-key birthday celebration this year with just one or two closest friends. But I ended up having many birthday celebrations instead. I'm not complaining.

Crystal Phuong- Singapore Lifestyle Blog- 36th birthday celebration

We started with a yacht birthday party in the morning. (Thanks to my BFF Stefanie for arranging everything, and to everyone for spending their time to celebrate with me! I'm so touched). I just needed to bring my bikini and show up. We had a delicious birthday cake from American Express, too much wine, a good dose of vitamin sea, and endless laughter.

The weather had been gloomy with heavy rain all week, and the sun came on out my birthday to play. I also wanted to thank Mr. Ang, owner of No Name Yachts Pte Ltd, and his team for taking a good care of us that day. We had a great time. It was so perfect.

My initial plan of having a quiet birthday was spending the weekend at Marina Bay Sands hotel, swimming at the sky infinity pool, reading books, or going for a walk at the Gardens by the bay. But, nothing can be quite quiet when my girl, Stefanie, shows up. In a good way, of course. She always brings sunshine wherever she goes. We checked in the hotel room just enough time for me to have an important meeting that I couldn't afford to skip. The hotel also offered the birthday girl a free upgrade to Deluxe room with a sky-view (exactly how I wanted) and sweetened my stay with a surprise birthday cake. Then, we had another birthday cake when we had lunch the next day at one of the restaurants.

In the evening, I went out to have dinner at an Italian restaurant with my friends and colleagues. Thanks to Stefanie for arranging this again! Mazzo restaurant team surprised me with a flamingo Lamborghini shot and a delicious birthday cake. Thank you, Patrick & Mazzo team! I had way too much fun that night. My jaw hurt from laughing too much.

The next day, Stef and I had a morning swim at the famous infinity pool, took a couple of photos, and enjoyed the city view while sipping our cup of coffee. We didn't get to stay long as our appointment slot was only for one hour per day. Who would have thought that we had to make an advanced booking to swim at the hotel pool before? But this is the reality we live in now during the pandemic. A lot of adjustments, changes, new rules applied. I did what I wanted to, and I was happy, regardless.

After the swim, we had lunch at the hotel restaurant and went to the casino right after because Stef was feeling lucky. Thirty minutes later, we walked out of the casino with an extra $200 in Stef's wallet. It's my birthday. Of course, everyone is feeling lucky! At least, I like to think so.

At night, we went to have drinks and dinner with my good friend, Javi, at the Fairmont hotel. Not only did I have a great laugh, but I also had another birthday cake, and a happy birthday song sang in Spanish, by the most fun & good looking Spanish man, I know. A big hug and thanks to Emmanuel, General Manager of Fairmont hotel, for the champagne.

On day 3 of my 36 years old, I celebrated with two women whom I dearly love and admire. There are not enough words to express how grateful I am for their support, patience, and guidance in the last three years. They watched me grow and celebrated with me every important milestone in my career and now personal.

Have I done all the celebrations yet? Probably not. I'm the kind of person who, if I can wake up and be happy every day, I will celebrate no matter how big or small. But every birthday, it's a chance for me to reflect, to look deep into my soul (and sometimes my insecurities), to question myself, "How much have I grown?", "What have I accomplished?" "Am I happy?". Then, I started looking back at old photos.

The photo on the left was Crystal 2.0 ten years ago. She was young, innocent, ambitious, energetic, and impatient. The image on the right is the Crystal 3.0 now. She is still young at heart, more experienced, always ambitious, more patient, understanding, and compassionate. What have I lost over the last ten years? Perhaps, the insecurity about my flaws, the doubts about my ability, the negativity when I hit the roadblocks, and the need to find someone make me happy. What have I gained on the contrary? Some wrinkles on my face, a few pounds on my body, a lot more patience and emotional maturity, and a longer list of work-life experiences, and the contentment in life that is so hard to find.

There will still be days when PMS syndrome hits me; I'll feel like I've not accomplished enough, I won't have time to achieve all the goals I set for myself, I haven't spent much time with the family, where will I be in the next 5 and 10 years, and the list goes on. But as soon as those doubtful feelings got me, I quickly realised that the hormones rollercoaster is trying to give me an emotional ride. I can let it swing my mood up and down, or I can choose to say, "Stop it. It's enough". Whether I'm at v2.0 or v3.0, I'm still fighting my own battles every day like everybody else. But at 36 years old, I learn to choose what's worth fighting for and what to let go. I'm lucky to be surrounded by many great people. Some help me before even meeting me in person. Some spoil me with their love and support. Some help me to grow from my mistakes. Some motivate me to go after my dreams. Some push me out of my comfort zone. My memory sucks, but I'll never forget these names.

I'm always a work in progress because I'm nowhere near perfect, and I will never be. But I know what I'll bring to the table, and I'm not afraid to express myself. I love the woman I've become, and I am enough.

As always, thank you for reading! To all my beautiful friends, thank you for being a part of my journey!

9 DAYS IN MINNESOTA

March 26, 2020

Around March 2017, I lost my job, and I published this photo on my Instagram with a caption "New day, a new beginning. But first, let's take a break." Indeed, I took this "retrenchment" opportunity to have the longest break I've ever had by far. It was almost four months of traveling nonstop. First, I went to Yogyakarta, Indonesia then flew to Ho Chi Minh for the Vietnam International Fashion Week. After the fashion week, I went back to Hanoi to spend one week with the family before I headed to the US. I was so lucky that I got to travel that much, even when I was unemployed for four months. During this time, I came across some job opportunities, but nothing materialized after a few rounds of interviews. Not sure why, but I wasn't even worried about looking for a job. I just kept believing that the right job would choose me at the right time. Leaving the stress behind, I took 30- hour flight to Maple Grove, Minneapolis, to visit the boyfriend's house for the first time.

I didn't know what to expect. Many friends asked me, "What's there in Minneapolis?"- "I don't know. I'm going to find out", I told them. Perhaps, because I did not expect anything before the trip, everything turned out to perfect for me.

The weather was beautiful in August in Minneapolis. I started my morning with a cup of coffee, egg, and toast looking at this beautiful backyard.

Then, we went for a walk around to explore the Maple Grove neighborhood. The air was crisp; the road was empty, and the scenery was breathtaking. I still remember very well how beautiful the houses there.

During the days that Ken didn't have to go to work, he would show me around his hometown where he grew up either spending time at this giant lake near his house or driving around to see his friends for lunch.

I remembered my feeling while sitting on that high chair looking at this lake. I kept telling myself, "Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, then it's not the end". My mind was instantly at ease. I was able to enjoy my nine days in Minneapolis without any stress or worry at all.

One day I went to the largest mall in the US, Mall of America, for shopping and witnessing the largest indoor amusement park, Nickelodeon Universe.

The next day I went river fishing with Ken's nephew. It was my first time fishing in the river, and it felt like I went on an Amazon jungle adventure. It was scary at first and fun later. We also drove up to Duluth, a port city on Lake Superior in Minnesota, and spent a night there. I thought the lake near Ken's house was massive, but it was only a tiny lake compared to the Lake Superior.

Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes of North America, is also the world's largest freshwater lake by surface area, and the third-largest freshwater lake by volume. Its area is 82,103 km², and I could feel the waves coming towards me. It looked more like an ocean to me than a lake. It didn't feel real. It was also the first time that I saw a span-drive configuration movable lift, aka Aerial Lift Bridge, constructed in 1901-1905. Watching the giants ships passing through the lift each time made me think of the "timing." When the time is right, it will happen.

Leaving Aerial Lift Bridge, we stopped by at the Split Rock Lighthouse to explore the beauty of the Lake Superior from a different angle.

Then, we moved to Gooseberry Falls State Park, one of Minnesota's most popular state parks that has many spectacular falls. It didn't disappoint me with this view.

Few days before I flew home to Singapore, I spent time at the lakehouse with Ken and his family. It was the first time I experienced an evening with a campfire by the lake. A drink on my hand while listening to everyone talk. It was freezing that night for me, but I felt warm from the inside.

I also tried to learn fishing, but I realized I shouldn't continue; otherwise, people would get hurt. I tried the casting technique, but instead of throwing the bait into the water, my fishing hook landed on Ken's nephew's shirt, who was standing right behind me. He didn't get hurt, and I couldn't stop laughing.

Time flies when you are having fun. I didn't know when I would revisit Minneapolis then, and I still don't know now. But I know now why they say Minneapolis people are genuine and friendly. If you look at scenery like that every day, how can you stay mad?

Till next time, Minnesota!

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