A big birthday present!
So, today a guy got his girlfriend LASIK at my clinic as a birthday present. He set up the appointment for her last week (without her knowing), came in early this morning to give us a gift bag, balloons, and card to give her, and then brought her in blindfolded. He walked her to the front desk, uncovered her eyes, and...ta-daaaa!!!! Happy Birthday, honey!
What do you think? Great gift? Weird gift? Bad gift? FWIW, the monetary value of the gift is somewhere between $4000 and $5000.
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because I'm on nitrous."
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It is a great gift, a really great gift. I say this as someone that has had LASIK done and absolutely love it and I am extremely thankful I did it.
For someone that has worn glasses for a long time, it is amazing to not need them any more.
It's a great gift, but you'd have to be REALLY sure she wanted it. If she frequently bemoans her contact lenses and wishes aloud that she could afford Lasik then it's a great idea.
Um, I would be a little pissed if someone did this to me even if I wanted LASIK. You tell me you have a birthday surprise for me, blindfold me, and take me somewhere...and surprise! you're having surgery on your eyes RIGHT NOW!!!!
While I think getting someone the LASIK is a very nice and very generous gift, I really don't want to be ambushed with surgery. I'd prefer the surprise was "I made an appointment for you next week."
This tastes like the circus smells.
It's great if the girlfriend really wanted it done, and he knew that beforehand. I would be annoyed by such a gift. Really, of all the things you could spend 5 grand on, you bought me surgery?
But then, I like my glasses.
Kinda like Fink-Nottle. I'd love Lasik surgery as a present, but if i'm being blindfolded and taken some place as a gift, surgery is not really what I'd be expecting.
It is hardly surgery, I mean one Valium and and a few minutes in a chair and done. Though I am a little shocked that the LASIK could be done the same day. I assumed the visit was for the screening to see if her eyes were suitable for the procedure and the actual procedure would come later.
Right, that's what I was picturing. Can you clarify, OCS? Did they shoot lasers at her eyes right then, or was it a quick checkup of her eyes so they could set up the actual surgery? It's a little weirder if it was "okay hop into the chair hope you didn't have any plans for later today."Originally posted by What Exit?
I intend to post a follow up once the discussion has continued to develop, but just to make clear: he brought her in for the initial evaluation, and reserved a spot for her on the surgery schedule today in the event she qualifies for the surgery and elects to go ahead with it. This is not uncommon; we have patients who are military, or out of state students, who fly in, get the exam and the surgery the same day, and fly out the next day.
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because I'm on nitrous."
find me at Goodreads
I stick by my first impression then, awesome gift.
What's the recovery like for Lasik? I assume she basically had to cancel any big plans for the rest of the day, that's a little weird to do that without asking first. On the other hand, if he knew her schedule it might have made perfect sense to do that.
She would/will be more or less out of commission until this evening, due as much to the Valium as to the procedure itself. She would very likely be seeing 20/20 by tomorrow morning and able to return to most normal activities.
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because I'm on nitrous."
find me at Goodreads
I suppose it's a good gift - if she wanted it and has the right sort of eye problems. Not all of them can be completely fixed with LASIK. "We're going to slice open your eyes buy you'll still need glasses" is NOT a good present.
(Personally, I would feel incredibly awkward getting such an expensive gift. But I'm poor, and weird.)
Yeah, but I assume they can determine that at the intake exam. If it turns out she has oculo-whatevero-itis that can't be treated by Lasik then they don't have to do the surgery.
Yeah, I noticed that after I'd already posted.
The more I think about it, the more I think that I would not like such a gift.
It's pretty cool considering the hefty price tag and the gift of clear vision, but I'd have bought her tits instead.
Hell, if I didn't do things just because they made me feel a bit ridiculous, I wouldn't have much of a social life. - Santo Rugger.
Okay that's not so bad. As long as she can be like yes I want it, but let's schedule a time to do it next week. Though talk about putting pressure on the relationship with a gift like that.
This tastes like the circus smells.
OK, so here's the update: she is a great candidate for LASIK, and she's having surgery this afternoon. Happy ending, right?
The reason I brought this thread up in the first place is that, when he un-blindfolded the girl, and sprung the surprise, she looked as though she was trying to smile around a mouthful of lemon juice. She looked miserable. She said a half hearted "wow" and "but I don't even know if I can have LASIK."
Here were my guesses:
1) Overwhelmed with joy and just didn't want to cry in front of all these strangers.
2) Nervous and uncomfortable at the idea of "Hi, let's laser your corneas today!" Several of you mentioned this possibility upthread.
3) Disappointed that this was the big birthday surprise she was being blindfolded and led to. I mean, if she expected to take off her blindfold and see an engagement ring, or a Lexus, I could see her being less than ecstatic.
From hearing BF talk, I know that she didn't like wearing glasses, and had expressed a few times a general wish for LASIK. However, it was more like "Man, it would be neat to get that laser operation thing," than "Hey, I heard an ad on the radio for Dr. _______, I think I'll call them and set up an appointment." BF did all the research and legwork, and whatever else she may have been (grateful, ungrateful, scared, disappointed, touched), she was legitimately surprised.
As far as the price thing, my gut feeling (from several cues) is that he is well-off, either from birth or from good employment, and she is not. So maybe there's something to Orual's assertion that she would be uncomfortable with a gift of this value.
Last edited by OneCentStamp; 12 Mar 2010 at 02:48 PM.
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because I'm on nitrous."
find me at Goodreads
Oh, well, that's too bad, then. I can definitely see it being the sort of thing some people wouldn't appreciate at all. Too bad the guy apparently made the wrong guess.
Great gift for a girlfriend. 5k on a present? Jesus. I mean, I don't need lasik, but if he's giving out presents that big for his significant other, I'll make a pass at him!
Last edited by AndrewRyan; 12 Mar 2010 at 03:03 PM.
Hell hath no fury, like a woman's scorn for video games.
I hope she at least had in her mind that she wanted LASIK. Cause I have bad vision, but I have about zero interest in any kind of laser surgery.
Just out of idle curiosity, why? Is it the risk, or do you just look good in glasses?
I'm happy enough wearing contacts that I wouldn't find it a huge thrill to get Lasik but if I couldn't wear contacts I'd really want it.
I really just am nervous at the thought of it in general. Partially, though, it's because I have a eye condition that I am afraid might worsen if I did it. I think OCS told me once that there's one type of surgery I could still do, but the whole thing seems too risky for me.
I my case, contacts were no longer an option and I have to say LASIK was a lot better than contacts. I wore contacts for maybe 9 months and LASIK is way better in every way.
Well that makes sense, my eyes were quite correctable.
I don't know. I mean, I had LASIK, and I love it. Even though I bitch about my night vision and being unable to read light text on a dark screen anymore, it was absolutely one of the best things I've ever spent money on. I really really wanted it, and I am really glad I got it.
But having it sprung on me as a gift would be odd. Like being surprised with laser hair removal. "You periodically complain about shaving...well, today you can get your legs lasered! Happy birthday!" Ummmm...ok? If I were to have brought it up myself and suggested forgoing other birthday presents for it, that would be different, I guess, but it's still sort of a utilitarian gift, albeit a high-end one. (Which is fine if you like that sort of thing, but I'd be wondering where the box with the shiny pretty thing was.)
Also, I would be weirded out by a boyfriend surprising me with supposed improvements to my body.
I feel like an asshole for saying this, but when I first saw her, my thought was that the $4-5 Gs would have been better put towards her teeth.
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because I'm on nitrous."
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Hey, we all have our imperfections, but to me there's a difference between saying, "Honey, I am really unhappy with my _____, can we try to find room in the budget for whatever treatment?" and someone saying, "Guess what! I'm going to get your ______ fixed!" Maybe I'm just insecure.
So you're saying the Extenze tablets that keep arriving on our doorstep weren't ordered by you? Suuuuuuuuuuuure.
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because I'm on nitrous."
find me at Goodreads
The best ending possible to this is that the girl gets her eyes zapped and comes out of it, into the waiting room and exclaims....
"Jesus Christ you're fucking ugly!"
Hell, if I didn't do things just because they made me feel a bit ridiculous, I wouldn't have much of a social life. - Santo Rugger.
Well there's always Christmas.I feel like an asshole for saying this, but when I first saw her, my thought was that the $4-5 Gs would have been better put towards her teeth.
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