A provincial patient gets Smile Pro in Gangnam.

I live in the provinces. I booked the first slot (9:50) for same-day exam + surgery with Director Kim Bugi. (Schedule: stay at a friend’s place for 2 nights and 3 days - leave luggage the day before - first-slot exam and surgery - next day first-slot follow-up check and retina exam after pupil dilation - return to my main home at 5 PM.) First of all, it was a clinic my cousin was satisfied with, and after watching the clinic’s YouTube, I wanted to be treated by Director Kim. The optometrist was kind and gave the impression of explaining things as specifically as possible. The exam took exactly 1 hour. After the exam, there was surgery and cost explanation in the consultation room. The reasons I decided on Smile Pro were: 1. I didn’t know my corneal thickness and was just begging, please don’t let me end up needing lens implantation surgery. 2. My corneas are thin, but my vision is not extremely bad, so I could get Smile even with less shaving! 3. It’s my eyes for life, and there are cases where even if you want Smile you can’t get it, so I thought I should invest in my eyes while I still can. 4. I have some astigmatism, my pupils are very large so glare is really bad, and I have dry eyes, so I was a borderline candidate who also needed corneal strengthening, which is why I chose Pro. With a referral discount and an event discount, I got the maximum discount price. I waited a bit, paid, went to the pharmacy, got instructions for the eye drops, had blood drawn to make autologous serum eye drops, put on the surgical gown, and entered the operating room. I lay down and got positioned, and once they set me up, I needed to relax my body as much as possible and let go of all tension. The director came in and started the surgery. Since it was Smile Pro, staring at the green light was easy, but after that they put medicine in my eyes, and when they did the corneal strengthening, it was hard to keep looking straight ahead. (It felt like they were pouring cups of water directly into my eyeballs.) At that point I think I needed to stay mentally alert haha. During corneal strengthening, they put in medicine and told me to count the seconds while they were heating it, and somehow I held on and the surgery ended. It finished quickly. I think it was around 12:30? I came out, packed up my things, put on sunglasses and a hat, got the instructions, and had to get home as fast as possible.. If you don’t know what surgery you’ll get, sunglasses and a hat are essential. (I didn’t know I would end up needing corneal strengthening, but if you do it, you have to avoid UV for 2 weeks anyway.) I got home as fast as I could in about 20 minutes, rested briefly, put in the serum and eye drops, and then my eyes gradually started to sting and it got hard to keep them open. Then from 1 PM to 3 PM, the pain started. It was like onion-cutting eye sting and tears streaming, but doubled? I couldn’t keep my eyes open, tears kept pouring, and it was a nasty kind of pain. I couldn’t even sleep.. After 3 PM, I was able to think clearly again and the pain became manageable. As soon as I got home, I had to use the eye drops exactly as the clinic instructed, but I couldn’t read the paper because the letters were blurry haha I took a rough photo and had Gemini read it for me, and then set timers to use the drops. For people coming up from the provinces, since the serum eye drops need to be stored where you stay, a fridge is essential, and if you’re given two bottles, one needs freezer storage, so you also need a freezer. I listened to lectures about the three-body problem by Ju Pyeol, listened to Chimaek Man’s World Cup, and ate a meal. When sleeping, I was afraid of rubbing my eyes unconsciously if they got dry, so I slept wearing sunglasses for one day. Day 1 ended. The next day I returned for pupil-dilation retinal examination. They checked my vision, put in dilation drops, waited a bit, I saw the director, made a one-month follow-up appointment, and went home. On the way home, everything was cloudy and I couldn’t focus well, so I didn’t see very clearly. After resting a bit, I bought an insulated bag at Daiso, bought an ice cup at a convenience store, carefully packed my precious serum eye drops, and went to my main home. It was long, but anyway by day 5 I could see so well. When the sun sets, I take off the sunglasses and live normally, and I put them on again right away in the morning. That’s how I’ve been living. When I put in the serum eye drops, it feels like the world becomes clear. I regret every single drop because it feels too precious. The glare and dryness will probably last about 6 months... Mine is thin, so I was told it would take longer, so that’s just something I have to accept. I really want the 2-week mark to come quickly so I can walk around in the daytime without sunglasses.