Cataract Surgery Updates

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

I thought I was blind before my cataract surgery.

It’s three days after my second surgery.

The second visit was way more interesting then the first.
My first visit was scary.
I didn’t see anything
I didn’t know what to expect or what was expected of me.

I later learned that he struggled with my left eye.
I am weird.
Many other doctors have said so.
My GP calls me “special”. Ha!

Anyways the second visit was smoother.
I knew what was to be expected.

Until the surgeon only said something unexpected.

Imagine.

You are on your back in a chair staring up at a bright light.

You can’t not look at the light.
Your eyelids are tapped back on your ‘good’ eye

With your surgeon and nurses looking over talking to each other.
The nurse is flushing water over your eye every few seconds because you can’t blink.

Just after the first time he makes the incision to begin removing the old cataract lens
And the surgeon says woops.

Woops!

Can you believe it.

Turns out ok in the end.

That surgery went well with no need for stitches.
A ‘text-book’ operation.

The first day after surgery
I am still swollen and out of focus and lost because I can’t really see my computer screen clearly
I definitely can’t see the TV across the room so I slept most of the time.

Two days later.
I can see wonderful but only 2 feet in front of my nose.

So I can read.

My computer screen in 3 feet away so I have trouble focusing on it.

Walking is out.

Watching TV is out.

I discover my wife’s glasses allow me to see far away enough to walk ok.
So what do I do?

I go to the mall with her so she doesn’t have to drive alone in the snowstorm that picks today to continue.

I now know a tiny bit how it is to function without your sight scarey.

Today I go back to the clinic to see if I have healed enough to get a set of interim glasses that will allow me to see middle distance.

It will be six weeks before I can get a final prescription set.

Wish me luck.

And if you ever find yourself in the position that you need surgery and you opt for something other than the ‘common practice’ because you are ‘special’

Think it through and ask questions.

And let’s hope you don’t get a surgeon that says Woops.