1C LIFESunday, Feb. 15, 2009 www.NewarkAdvocate.com

LOIS WHYDE REPORTER (740) 328-8513, lwhyde@newarkadvocate.com

BY L.B. WHYDEAdvocate Reporter

After wearing contacts andglasses for more than 40years, Diane Wheeler just did-n’t want to do it any more.

She wanted to be able to see whenshe woke up in the morning, so shewent to Bloomberg Eye Center inNewark and had a LASIK proceduredone this past December. Now theonly problem the 50-year-old has withher vision is that she still reaches forher glasses in the morning, out ofhabit.

“It has made my life easier,” Wheel-er, of Utica, said. “I can now readwonderfully without any glasses andI can also see far away without glass-es. I’m hoping to do it for my daugh-ters someday, because three out of thefour wear contacts.”

LASIK has been available in theUnited States since 1987, but the pro-cedure took 100 years in the making.European doctors acknowledged thepossibility of sophisticated surgicaltechniques, then in the 1930’s, Japan-ese doctors did more research in radi-al keratotomy. But it was not until the1970’s when a Russian doctor was ableto put procedures to the physical test.

Dr. Fyodorov was treating a youngboy who had fallen and his glasses hadbroken and cut into his eye. Insteadof significantly hurting the boy, thedamage was minimal and simplyshaved off a layer of the outer surfaceof the eye. Previously the boy was verynearsighted and after the fall, his vi-sion had improved in that eye.

Fyodorov published his discoveriesand American doctors, with adequatefunding, began serious research.Later, it was also the Americans whowere able to include a laser in theprocess.

In 1997, Dr. Leroy Bloomberg andDr. Shahin Shahinfar began studyingand using the procedure. TodayShahinfar has performed more than25,000 procedures using two differentprocedures, traditional and custom,which is more computer driven. Tech-nology has evolved into better lasersfor the procedure.

“It gives us a better way to do LASIKwith a better quality of vision,”Shahinfar said. “With custom there isless glare and halo at night.”

When LASIK became popular in2000, Bloomberg Eye Center con-ducted 8,000 procedures and was oneof the busiest centers in the country.

“This is not just a Newark center,but more of a regional center,”Bloomberg’s Director of CorporationServices, Judy Mackey, said. “We havepatients that come from Columbus,West Virginia, Kentucky, and evenLondon, Paris and Germany, to namea few.”

Today, the center sees patients thatrange in age from 25 to 54, althoughShahinfar says that age is not an issuewith LASIK. Some 55 percent of thecompany’s patients are women.

It was three years ago that RobertArmentrout, 40, of Heath, had LASIKperformed at Bloomberg. He hadfriends that had had the proceduredone, but he was still amazed at theresults.

“As soon as it was completed, I satup and had really, really good vision,”

Armentrout said. “I had no problemsat all.”

L.B. Whyde can be reached at (740) 328-8513 or lwhyde@newarkadvocate.com.

We have one wall in our familyroom that has been sitting formore than a year with an incom-plete wallpaper job on it. Thepaper goes around the rest of theroom, and stops abruptly, show-ing the pale blue paint under-neath for the last eighth of thewall space.

Why, you maywonder, is this jobnot finished? Ihave no good ex-cuse, and the factis I gave up. Thenon-papered partof the wall glaresat me, but I shrugoff my guilt easily.

When the boyswere more baby-like, they napped

longer and went to bed earlier inthe evening; this gave me time todo crazy things like wallpaper thehouse. As they got progressivelyolder, it became more difficult.

Now, if I get out the wallpapertools they are recognizable onsight, and when the boys seethem they are all about helpingand hands-on experience. I can’tovercome the attraction thatchildren seem to have for adulttools, of any type. The plasticplay tools are dross by comparison.

Wallpapering requires a lot ofclear floor space to roll out thepaper and cut it the right length.I began to have trouble rightthere, with the first step. The kidswant to step on the rolled-outpaper, so I have to say, “No walk-ing on, leaning on, or jumpingover the paper! Just don’t be on itat all!” That finally sinks in. Thenthey see me using the tape meas-ure, another popular item ontheir list of “things to get.” Theyattempt to use the tape measure,whapping the metal end aroundon the paper and generally caus-ing me heart palpitations for fearthe wall covering will end upwith holes in it.

I have to draw a line across thepaper before I know where to cutit, and this calls attention to mypencil, and the fact the paper canbe written on. Suddenly theyfight over who has the pencil I’vemistakenly laid down, and scrib-bles all over the back of the wall-paper are the next peril to avoid.

Then the scissors come intoplay. Big and industrial-looking,my scissors are far more interest-ing than the blunt-tipped childscissors they get to use, and noamount of persuasion (“Whydon’t you boys go cut some col-ored paper with your scissors?”)will deter them from continuingto “help” me.

All these distractionsled to the inevitablequick and sloppy job ofmeasuring. Before I offi-cially gave up I managedto hang two pieces ofwallpaper, only to findeach one was drasticallyshort of the baseboardat the bottom. I peeledoff the sticky, wet paperand resolved to finishthe wall when the boyswere teens.

It isn’t only wallpaper that isimpossible to do with all this pre-school-age help. A few weeksago, I started refinishing a pieceof wood furniture. The electricsander I was using was incrediblyloud and sent the boys into apanic when turned on. Now, I’msanding a huge piece of furnitureby hand, and I have to stop andvacuum the dust every 10 min-utes or the boys will end up cov-ered in the stuff. Using a paint-brush and putting the stain onwill have to be done when theyare asleep; I know they won’t beable to resist having their nosesin that process!

Even the noise of the sewingmachine makes them come gal-loping from two rooms away.“Whatcha doin’ Mama? What’sdat you’re sewing? Can I see?”They love to watch tools in ac-tion, up close. It isn’t easy to sewa straight seam with twomunchkins crowding in at my elbows.

And my mother often remindsme, “By the time they’re oldenough to actually BE of help,they will have no interest indoing it whatsoever.” She may beright, but I’ll bet I can get themto lend a hand with any projectthat uses big-people tools.

Help with household projects

J.CAMBRAIA

MOM SPIN

DEFINITIONLASIK stands for Laser-

Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis— a procedure that permanentlychanges the shape of the cornea,the clear covering of the front ofthe eye, using an excimer laser.

A blade or laser device is usedto cut a flap in the cornea. Ahinge is left at one end of thisflap. The flap is folded back toreveal the stroma.

Pulses from a computer-con-trolled laser vaporizes a portionof the stroma, and then the flap is replaced.

LASIK IS NOT FOR YOU IF:■ You are not a risk taker.■ It will jeopardize your career.

Does your job prohibit refractive surgery?

■ Cost is an issue.■ You required a change in

your contact lens or glassesprescription in the past year.

■ You have a disease or are on medication that may affect wound healing.

■ You actively participate in contact sports.

■ You are not an adult.

WHAT ARE THERISKS WITH LASIK?■ Some patients lose vision.■ Some patients develop

debilitating visual symptoms.■ You may be under-treated

or over-treated.■ Some patients may develop

severe dry eye syndrome.■ Results are generally not

as good in patients with very large refractive errors of any type.

■ For some far-sighted patients, results may diminish with age.

■ Long-term data are not available.

Source: www.fda.gov

Matthew Berry, The AdvocateDr. Shahin Shahinfar wipes around Angel Hoffer's eye so the cuts will seal properly after performing LASIK eye surgery at Bloomberg Eye Center.

LASIK procedurehas changed livesVision correction surgeryhas taken a long time to develop, but quick totake at Bloomberg

Matthew Berry, The AdvocateDr. Shahin Sharhinfar performs LASIK eye surgery on Angel Hoffer Friday after-noon in Newark.

Matthew Berry, The AdvocateJanele Lehman, left, performs a finalWave Scan on patient Angel Hofferbefore Hoffer's LASIK eye surgeryFriday afternoon in Newark.