“The voyage of discovery
Is not in seeking new landscapes
But in having new eyes.”
~Marcel Proust
June and July were dedicated to cataract surgery for both of us. Greg and I juggled surgery dates, drops, driving, and follow-up appointments. Between us, it has been a summer dedicated to healing and finding our new eyes. So now you know why there wasn’t an article for early August. Sorry about that. It was more than I expected, and so I thought it might be interesting for anyone who might have one (or two) of these surgeries in the future to know what to expect.
I went first; Greg wanted me to be the guinea pig! I had a lot of anxiety about someone cutting into my eye. To that, it was a big waste of stress. Once you are confident in your doctor, it is an easy, peasy surgery. It required light sedation so you can move your eye around as the surgeon asks you. The anesthesia was a clear gel that did the trick, and it was completely comfortable.
It was done as an outpatient procedure and I was home in a short while. I was released with gauze and a plastic eye patch. which remained on, except for when applying the drops, until the follow-up appointment the next morning.
We were given a spreadsheet of three different drops to be applied for varying durations that took almost a month.
I know from being a dentist that wound healing the first couple of days requires stillness. It’s the one time it’s okay to be a couch potato. I had recently uploaded two apps from my local library, Hoopla and Libby. Prepared with a couple of audiobooks, I planted myself in Greg’s recliner.
This was an excellent way to heal, and keeping my eyes closed as much as possible kept me from noticing any scratchiness. After the second eye was finished, I was able to resume swimming about four weeks later. In the meantime, taking walks was the only recommended exercise. We both gained a few pounds. In retrospect, it would have been helpful to reduce our portion size.
I was very curious what I would be seeing when my lens was removed and before the new one was inserted. It was fascinating. In the right eye, I saw a lovely circle of deep royal purple with a surrounding yellowish gold border. In the middle, I saw three small rectangles with sharp edges, which I assume were the lights above the surgical table. I didn’t see any instruments or anything. In the left eye about 10 days later, I saw a circle with the three rectangles, but the colors were completely different. There was a bright “Barbie Pink” organic shape complemented by a beautiful turquoise, and there was no border. What was interesting was that Greg saw black and white and saw the three rectangles. We asked the surgeon about it, and she thought it might have something to do with the anesthesia. I have an artist friend who saw colors when she had laser surgery, so we decided we’re unicorns.
The end result can be different for each patient, depending on what lens correction is possible for you to have. We were lucky to have our astigmatism corrected, and now we both can see distance very well, making it easy to drive and see the signs again. Both of us need glasses for close work and reading.
What a gift it is to see better!
I’ve heard it’s been pretty quiet in our village, and it’s been very hot and humid. We’ve recently bought our tickets to return to Paradise in early November.
Looking forward to a wonderful season.
