Phylicia George: Overcoming hurdles with LASIK
One thing is clear when you speak with Phylicia George: the passion and drive she has is palpable. Hailing from Markham, Ontario and one of the top hurdlers in the world, Phylicia has competed in both the summer and winter Olympics. In fact, she won her first medal in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics for the two-woman bobsled event.
The accomplished athlete also has a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, with a focus in physiology and neurobiology from the University of Connecticut and graduated with a 3.9 GPA and summa cum laude honours. Almost pursuing a career in medicine, she eventually followed her dream of going to the 2012 Olympics in London.
This self-proclaimed “early-bird” has the total package and might make you wonder if she ever has a moment of weakness. “I have the biggest sweet tooth,” she admits, indulging in a bag of Skittles when she can – but only when competition season is over.
Phylicia’s motto is, “do something today that your future self will thank you for”; words everyone can live by.
She has already accomplished a lot and yet, until recently, there was one big hurdle she still had to get over: blurry vision and the inconvenience of contact lenses.
Not ready to let this get in the way of her trail-blazing goals, she decided to undergo laser vision correction. This is Phylicia’s road to 20/20...
Before your procedure, did you wear glasses or contacts, or both?
Both. For training, I wore contacts but, in the house, I was always in glasses.
How did that affect your quality of life in relation to training and competing?
For one, travelling. Contacts became a bit of a pain in terms of making sure I had my contact solution. We compete a lot in Europe, I’m always on the road and even sometimes I’d be on the plane and I’d be like, "do I have my contacts?" I know that when I get to my destination, I have to have my contacts. So you know, always worrying about that.
And I’ve actually even had moments during races where my contacts kind of slide out a little and that moment of not being able to see. I do the 100 metre hurdles, so I’m constantly running towards an obstacle and that split second where I have my focus taken away can affect my performance.
What made you decide to have laser vision correction?
In 2015, I was [at the] World Championships in Beijing and I was walking out to the first round of 100 metre hurdles, [and] I smudged my contact and couldn’t see out of that eye and there was nothing I could do. I [didn’t] ever want to ever be in that situation again. [LASIK MD] answered a lot of the questions I had, and I felt really comfortable, and it just seemed safe.
How did you feel before going into your procedure?
I was definitely nervous; I think it’s more so just not knowing what to expect. I was nervous about [...being] awake during it and just the not knowing what it’s going to feel like. And I tend to not numb very well [even at the dentist]. But the one thing that I was holding on to was, "ok, it’s less than 10 minutes."
Did it hurt?
I felt nothing at all. It’s painless. I mean, there’s a little bit of pressure at some points but it definitely was not painful at all.
And they say it’s [about] 10 minutes but I felt like mine lasted less than five — it was so fast.
How did you feel after your procedure?
Immediately after, I felt pretty good. When I was getting driven home, my eyes got really sensitive to light but thankfully I had somebody with me so I could just close my eyes and that was fine. And then I basically just went home and I went to sleep. I set an alarm for my eyedrops and there was no pain but just a bit of burning, like I had just chopped onions… I would say that that lasted about four hours and after that everything was totally fine.
How long did it take before you got back into your routine?
By the next day I could see totally clearly.
I took two or three days off [from] training just to be 100 per cent sure and then by the fourth day I was back [to] training.
You’ve stated that you now have 20/20 vision without the need for glasses or contacts. How has this affected your life?
I think the biggest thing is getting up in the morning and being ready to go. And I think as a high-performance athlete... I have to be on my P’s and Q’s because – especially for track and field – we’re talking about hundredths or thousandths of a second [that can] make a difference. The more that I can focus on the things that I need to do and not have to worry about something else, gives me more energy to put towards [what will] give me that extra hundredth and thousandth of a second and get on the podium.
A lot of people are afraid of the procedure itself, understandably, since we’re talking about our eyes and our vision which is very precious. Do you have any tips to share, for gearing up for the big day, how to remain calm and focused?
[What] made me feel comforted was really believing that it’s only going to be a short period of time; the actual procedure is so quick. It’s more so just worrying about the unexpected. After having the procedure, I learned that all those worries are unwarranted.
In one of your YouTube videos, you talk about the four steps to trying something new: having an itch, having the courage to take the first step, the process, and realization. How can this transfer to everyday life?
I think when we’re challenging ourselves, we’re growing and we’re becoming better people, in whatever aspect that might be. I think a really big thing in life is just to try new things. That’s how you grow, that’s how you become a different person, so I think it’s really just a matter of not being afraid to step out of your comfort zone. I think sometimes we don’t even realize our strength and we have to kind of step outside to figure that out.
What is something that most people might find surprising about you?
I think, in general, I’m just a goofy, fun-loving person. Sometimes, if you see me on the track, I look really serious, but I like to have fun. If you see me at practice, I’m the one laughing and having fun.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My parents are huge inspirations and [my] supporters. I see how hard they’ve worked to provide for me... so that’s a big motivation as well [to] work [hard] on the track to make them proud.
From an athlete standpoint, Donovan Bailey has been a huge inspiration. He’s actually the reason I wanted to become an athlete in the first place. Seeing him win the gold medal in ’96, on the podium, and seeing that special moment of winning an Olympic gold medal is what really made me be like, "man, I want that."
You’ve tackled both the summer and winter Olympics... what’s next?
Right now I’m going back to track and field. We have World Championships in October and then my goal is the 2020 summer Olympics. [Making] my fourth Olympic team, hopefully, and then my ultimate goal is to add some hardware to my winter Olympics.
We’ll be rooting for Phylicia as she continues on her path of success. Follow her journey on her website or Instagram page.