A gift for my daughter

When my daughter Annie came into the world, I could tell right away she had an indomitable spirit. Always lively as an infant, a bit difficult as a teenager, Annie’s strength of character would serve her well.

Although she was born in Tennessee, Annie is a Hawaii girl through and through. She loves to hike, she loves the ocean, she loves local food. When she returned to Hawaii after graduating from college, she said two things:  “Mom, I never want to live anywhere else!” and, “When can I have LASIK surgery?”

Unfortunately, Annie had been wearing contact lenses to correct her vision since she was a teen. Now she was 23 and her prescription had not unchanged for several years. Her corneas were healthy, so I thought, “Why not!” What better graduation gift to give to my daughter than the gift of sight without contacts or glasses. And who better to do the surgery than I. I just don’t trust anyone else.

As I sat over my daughter in the laser suite, I reflected on how far LASIK surgery has come since its inception and since I began performing it in 1997. The Intralase used to make the flap is precise within microns. The Visx CustomVue platform treats levels of prescription we can’t even measure by conventional techniques, making the results stunningly good. The Iris Registration software makes sure the treatment is laid down precisely on the cornea to ensure excellent results with very low retreatment rates. Little wonder, I was completely relaxed about operating on my own daughter.

That was a month ago. Today Annie loves swimming and hiking and waking up in the morning with 20/15 vision. She called me from the North Shore a few weeks ago and said, “Mom, I was swimming and I looked up — Kaena Point is so beautiful!”

Annie joins her grandmother, two aunts, two uncles, her dad and stepdad as family members having had LASIK with me. Her stepsister, Lindsay is scheduled for this week!

Dr. Jenkins and her daughter Annie Hiller