Eye I cannot consider this surgical nightmare.
A myopic bride walked down the aisle in pure agony, feeling as if “shards of glass” were piercing her eyeballs after opting for laser eye surgery in hopes of improving her eyesight.
Now the once-energetic blonde is stricken by chronic pain – relentless discomfort that she suppresses by self-administering special eye drops constituted of her own blood.
“Before the surgery, I was in [an] in excellent physical and mental condition,” Erin Orchard, 35, a student from Sydney, Australia, Jam Press said.
“[I was] obsessed with my profession, excitedly planning my wedding day,” she continued, “and dealing towards major milestones reminiscent of buying my first home and starting a family.”
![Erin Orchard, 35, from Sydney, Australia, reveals eye discoloration after laser eye surgery.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000013390352.jpg?w=768)
Nevertheless, since a botched operation in January 2019, Orchard “lives in hell”.
“I needed to undergo a grieving process, forsaking the life I imagined,” she said, adding that the ordeal “transformed my identity and significantly modified the course of my life.”
Orchard virally shared the pains of her medical injury with her over 12,000 TikTok followers, raising awareness about the risks of voluntary surgery with warning videos which have garnered over 8 million views.
In a single clip titled “Laser Eye Surgery Ruined My Life,” Orchard explained that just 48 hours after LASIK – one other name for the procedure where specialists use a blade or laser to chop a flap in the cornea to remove excess tissue – she began he’s experiencing “tearing pain”.
Orchard told Jam Press that she knew immediately that something had gone “very improper” during her surgery.
“My eyes were so sensitive to light that I spent days sitting in a darkened room, and it hurt to take a look at a phone or computer screen for greater than a minute or two,” she recalls.
“The pain was like shards of glass piercing my eyes and my face was tingling, burning and stinging.”
The slightest change in the atmosphere would make her wince in pain.
“Even minor environmental aspects reminiscent of wind or air con caused increased levels of pain that seemed unbearable,” said Orchard.
![Erin Orchard, 35, from Sydney, Australia, wears safety glasses after laser eye surgery.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000013390366.jpg?w=768)
“I was forced to wear large safety glasses to attenuate the impact,” she added. “I was often made fun of for wearing glasses in public, which became a source of tension and stress.”
Orchard was eventually diagnosed with bilateral laser corneal neuralgia, a condition that causes pain in the eyes and face as a result of nerve damage in the corneas. That is one in every of the many risks associated with LASIK.
In actual fact, in 2019, a former FDA adviser argued that surgery ought to be “banned” as a practice as a result of the quite a few complications.
Orchard says she was not informed of the dangers of the procedure and felt “gassed” by her surgeon after receiving his grim prognosis.
“I was very depressed when I was first diagnosed and I remember leaving the appointment with tears streaming down my face,” she said. “I was filled with fear when I discovered that the pain I was enduring would persist as an ongoing problem with no prospect of cure.”
![Erin Orchard, 35, from Sydney, Australia, in a hospital bed after failing laser eye surgery.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000013390367.jpg?w=768)
Her physical torments are compounded by the post-traumatic stress disorder she has been affected by since the botched treatment, in addition to the financial problems she now faces.
“The savings I had fastidiously built up to purchase a house dwindled quickly as I faced rising medical expenses,” lamented Orchard.
“The medications I depend on to administer my condition have created an obstacle to starting a family, which has further impacted my hopes of becoming a parent,” she said, adding that she had also developed a deep distrust of the healthcare system.
![Erin Orchard, 35, from Sydney, Australia, wears a medical eye mask after failing laser eye surgery.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000013390351.jpg?w=768)
Despite her countless misfortunes, Orchard married during the strategy of recovery. But the great beauty day was not without torture.
“Fortunately, we moved forward with our wedding day, despite the fact that we had seriously considered canceling it for some time,” she said.
A team of doctors got here up with a combination of pharmaceuticals to assist her stay comfortable during a holy marriage.
“To be certain that I get through the day, my pain specialist, [general practitioner] and the ophthalmologist worked together to develop a treatment plan,” said Orchard. “I was still in considerable pain and needed a while to get better, however it was a ravishing day.”
![Erin Orchard, 35, from Sydney, Australia, with her husband.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000013390353.jpg?w=960)
Because of the support of her husband, relatives and a small army of doctors, Orchard recovers. And although her eyesight has improved since the surgery, she still has to wear glasses.
Orchard is now urging people online to take extreme precautions against eye health gambling.
“Study the risks and complications, consider the long-term implications,” she encouraged. “Don’t throw away your glasses too soon, be certain that your surgeon is ready to deal with complications and get a second opinion if needed.”
And laser eye surgery patient candidates on TikTok appear to see things the way Orchard does.
“Wow, I’m glad I saw this. I’ll keep my contacts and glasses. Thanks for sharing,” wrote a commenter.
“My lasik left me with chronic dry eye and after five years I needed glasses again. He was way too young when I got him [at 21]– confessed one other.
“I had Lasik surgery done about 3.5 years ago and now I get eye infections all the time,” admitted one other patient. “I think my eyes are all the time so dry.”