Good sight is definitely something I have taken for granted. I had 20/20 vision for the longest time, not needing glasses till my 40’s. Then bifocals were prescribed – that was 1999 I remember – just before we headed to Finland, and I worried about missing a step and falling down the stairs somewhere far-off. I did some stupid things in Finland, but didn’t fall down any stairs.
About 2 and a half years ago, the optometrist told me I had a small cataract, nothing to worry about – “it might be 15 years before you need it removed”. A year later I told him that I had been noticing it, a slight blurring that bugged me mostly when I was reading.
Another year went by, and it was starting to interfere with my activities – cross-stitch was the first to go – I couldn’t focus on the tiny squares. Reading was bothersome, so I gave it up recreationally, and concentrated on the newspaper and magazines. The computer screen was becoming the enemy – glaring at me, and scattering its light all over my retina. I had decided to take up birding after a visit to Cornell Lab of Ornithology (that was the fall of 2005), but I quickly became a one-eyed birder, keeping my left eye shut tight at the binoculars so I could see clearly. Dad was quite patient with me, guiding my shoulders toward a sighted bird, and describing its exact location so I could find it. I was not going to give it up!
This past December, I made another visit to the optometrist, ready to plead with him to recommend surgery. It had become a little frightening to drive in bright sun, or at night. I struggled through a granny-square afghan, hoping I was piecing it together correctly, because I really couldn’t see. I had also begun bumping into things, and people, that came up on my left side. I somehow had to convince him the time was right.
He agreed. Before I even pled my case, he said the cataract was far advanced, and I had better see the opthamologist about removal. I was elated, because I knew that it was only getting worse.
The M.D. saw me in January, and proclaimed that I would be blind in my left eye by spring if he didn’t operate. The cloudy lens will be removed through a surgical incision, and replaced with a permanent implant. A mild sedative will see me through, with a local anesthetic to numb my eye. I went last week and had my eye measured by ultrasound for an intraocular lens. Now it is 3 weeks till surgery. My vision has deteriorated further in the past week. I am ready……