Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Cataract Surgury

As I get older (this wasn't supposed to happen, the getting older you know) I find all sorts of things that don't work so well.  And I'm not refering to aging kitchen appliances.
One of the things causing me grief was my eyesight.  Working on the computer it didn't seem to matter if I wore my glasses or not, or cleaned them or not.  Always there were areas of smudges, kind of like grease on the lenses.  I would have to turn my head to see around them.  Very annoying.  Finally I decided it was time to see if my prescription had changed.  Yes, there was a change in my eyes.  The right hand side had developed cataracts.  Hmm.  Some things began to make sense.  Walking across a snowy yard was scary.  I had no depth perception unless I wore sunglasses and then it was a little better.  Even so I would be very conscious of where the ground ended, and it made walking very slow.
Like most people I know I have issues with things touching my eyes, and I was apprehensive about the what-ifs of the situation.
Turns out I had two choices; take my chances with the surgery or go blind. So July 6 I went for a procedure I had serious reservations for.
So.  It is...unpleasant.  The staff was fantastic and they all worked hard to put me at ease.  I sat in a huge recliner chair.  Drops in my eye. Booties on my feet.  A cap to cover my hair. More drops.  A hospital gown over my clothes.  More drops. Then they wheeled me off to wait my turn in yet another room.
Those were awesome recliners.  The nurse tweaked something and they stretched out flat into a hospital bed.  Cool.
I didn't care much for the light cover they put over my face but along with it came a little tube of oxygen to make it more comfortable.
I don't remember a lot about the surgery; bright lights, surprisingly loud noises, and some sort of guard that they slipped around my eyeball so I couldn't blink.  It was actually a comfort as I could  squeeze my eyelid against it and feel like I was doing something to protect myself.
I would describe it as unpleasant but not scary.  For my next eye, when it needs doing, I plan on coming equipped with 2 pain killers, a box of kleenex (the eye just leaks tears, no matter what) and a little plastic bag to put those kleenex into.  I was out of surgery by 9 in the morning, and  I was uncomfortable until about 3 or 4 in the afternoon, laying on my daughter's  couch and listening to her and her dad clean out something jammed in the sink drain. But after we ate we went for a drive to tour the university area, rubber neck Roger's Place, and admire the view from the top of Connor's Hill.  And I could see.  Still needed the kleenex handy, but I could see.
I am happy to report that the things went well.  I am almost looking forward to getting the other done.  I have made up a picture to describe the before and after vision I had.  I now need reading glasses but I don't need glasses to drive or work about the house.  What a joy.
Ironically, for the first two months every night when I went to bed I would reach up to take my glasses off.  I wore them for more than 50 years but I sure don't miss them.
So as you can see, not perfect but much much better than before.

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