How I Spent My Winter Vacation

I didn't really take a vacation but I did have to take a couple of days off last week. I finally gave up, went in, and had my eye fixed. It turned out to be a very fast procedure. For one thing, there was no general anesthetic. I was pretty relaxed and pain-free but fully aware of what was going on through the operation. I could hear the little ultrasound thing that broke up the old lens. When the doctor slipped the new lens in place, I could instantly see the lights above my eye. I'm sure if I hadn't been a little dopey it would have been freaky. As it was, it just seemed pretty cool.

A half hour later I walked out the door and was on the way home. I ate a little, drank a couple of cups of coffee and fell asleep for three hours. The next morning I went in to have it checked and could read the 20/30 line on the eye chart. I think I could read the 20/20 line today. My distance vision is very sharp.

The only negative is that I quickly realized how dark and foggy my other eye is becoming. It isn't nearly as bad as the other one was before I had the surgery, but the doctor says these cataracts can advance quickly. It was certainly the case with my left eye. I first noticed a little "smudge" on one part of my visual field -- like my glasses had a fingerprint on the lens -- less than a year ago. By last week, I could see only vague shapes and color, light and dark. I was, essentially, blind in my left eye.

I probably won't be cleared to drive until Friday, although I can certainly see well enough to pass my vision test without glasses today. I won't get new glasses for about four weeks. Though my distance vision is near-perfect, my arms aren't long enough to read with the new eye. Fortunately, the original equipment eye still works well enough close up.