09 June 2013
Well, THAT Escelated Quickly
09/06/13 05:59
This week I had my yearly eye appointment. OK it was closer to a year and a half but hey, I’ve been busy. Anyway I knew I needed my eyes checked. My right one especially had not been very clear for a few months. So I went in and sat in the chair. The doctor came in and started the test. First the left eye:
Cover the right eye. Now with your left one can you read this line?
PGDFE
How abut this one?
MOHCS
And this one?
C...um..G...something...H I think...something
OK that one has changed a little bit now lets try the right eye. Can you read this line?
No
OK how about this one?
No
Ummm, How about THIS one?
No
Well, uh...what can you see?
A fuzzy white blob on the far wall.
OK then, I guess, yes the right eye is a lot worse.
He then took a close look at my eyes with his little hand scope flashlight thing, and made some notes in my chart. Then he put in the dilation drops, had me sit in the waiting room for ten minutes or so and then took another closer look at my eyes and made some more notes.
At this point I said, “So I guess I will need new glasses then?”
He turned to me and said, “No, that would be a waste of money.” Seeing my surprised look he continued “Your cataract has gotten a lot worse and glasses won’t fix it.”
“So what, I guess we have to replace the lens then?” I asked timidly.
“Yes that’s what I would do."
"Oh, OK."
The good news is that will correct your vision.”
“But, my other eye will still be nearsighted. How is that going to work?”
“Yeah the left one. That would be a problem,” he answered. “Then what’d you say if we just do both of them suckers at the same time? It’ll be a lot easier.” he added cheerily.
“Well, uh...sure I guess.”
And that is how In less than half an hour I went from needing new glasses to being scheduled for double cataract surgery. The preliminary appointments are in early July and they’ll set the final dates once I pass those exams. The doctor did say that with my correction they can’t promise I’ll get back to 20/20, and I’ll probably need reading glasses. But hey, I’m at least 20/2000 now not counting the cataract. 20/40 or 20/60 would be great. For the first time in decades I will be able to find things without corrective lenses. You know things like pencils, the remote, the cat, the table, the floor, or the house.
Then this Saturday we were at a garage sale and the lady running it noticed me pulling my glasses down to get a close up look at something. This is a trick those of us that are nearsighted learn early on. It's one of the few advantages of myopia. It’s like having a built in magnifying glass.
“So you must be nearsighted like me eh?” She said with a laugh.
I said yes and we chatted about the pitfalls of being severely myopic.
“So have you ever thought about Lasik?” she asked.
I said I had but never done it and now I’d just been scheduled for cataract surgery.
“Well, you lucky devil,” was her reply, which wasn’t the sort of thing you expect when you say you’re going in for surgery. I mean think about it “I’m getting my gall bladder removed.” “You lucky devil.” Or “I’m having a brain tumour taken out.” “You lucky devil.” No, it just just doesn't sound right. But the feelings were heartfelt and I appreciated the support.
The surgery itself will be interesting. It’s just a day procedure so I’ll just need to skip two days of work, one for each eye. For some reason they won’t do both eyes in one visit. Of course they also do the procedure with just a local anesthetic. Now THAT’s something I’m not looking forward to. Anyway though, I’ll get one done then just have to wear an eye patch at night for a while. Then I’ll get the other one done. I figure there’s a good chance that by September I’ll be seeing better than I have since I was in grade four. On top of that, because the doctor has prescribed the surgery it’s covered by Health Canada, where Lasik is not.
So yes I am a lucky devil.
Thought for the week: Birthdays are good for you. Studies show that the more birthdays you have the longer you live.
Doug & Marsha
PIX. They did the driveway this week. House Project Phase 3 is done. Here's some before and after shots.
Cover the right eye. Now with your left one can you read this line?
PGDFE
How abut this one?
MOHCS
And this one?
C...um..G...something...H I think...something
OK that one has changed a little bit now lets try the right eye. Can you read this line?
No
OK how about this one?
No
Ummm, How about THIS one?
No
Well, uh...what can you see?
A fuzzy white blob on the far wall.
OK then, I guess, yes the right eye is a lot worse.
He then took a close look at my eyes with his little hand scope flashlight thing, and made some notes in my chart. Then he put in the dilation drops, had me sit in the waiting room for ten minutes or so and then took another closer look at my eyes and made some more notes.
At this point I said, “So I guess I will need new glasses then?”
He turned to me and said, “No, that would be a waste of money.” Seeing my surprised look he continued “Your cataract has gotten a lot worse and glasses won’t fix it.”
“So what, I guess we have to replace the lens then?” I asked timidly.
“Yes that’s what I would do."
"Oh, OK."
The good news is that will correct your vision.”
“But, my other eye will still be nearsighted. How is that going to work?”
“Yeah the left one. That would be a problem,” he answered. “Then what’d you say if we just do both of them suckers at the same time? It’ll be a lot easier.” he added cheerily.
“Well, uh...sure I guess.”
And that is how In less than half an hour I went from needing new glasses to being scheduled for double cataract surgery. The preliminary appointments are in early July and they’ll set the final dates once I pass those exams. The doctor did say that with my correction they can’t promise I’ll get back to 20/20, and I’ll probably need reading glasses. But hey, I’m at least 20/2000 now not counting the cataract. 20/40 or 20/60 would be great. For the first time in decades I will be able to find things without corrective lenses. You know things like pencils, the remote, the cat, the table, the floor, or the house.
Then this Saturday we were at a garage sale and the lady running it noticed me pulling my glasses down to get a close up look at something. This is a trick those of us that are nearsighted learn early on. It's one of the few advantages of myopia. It’s like having a built in magnifying glass.
“So you must be nearsighted like me eh?” She said with a laugh.
I said yes and we chatted about the pitfalls of being severely myopic.
“So have you ever thought about Lasik?” she asked.
I said I had but never done it and now I’d just been scheduled for cataract surgery.
“Well, you lucky devil,” was her reply, which wasn’t the sort of thing you expect when you say you’re going in for surgery. I mean think about it “I’m getting my gall bladder removed.” “You lucky devil.” Or “I’m having a brain tumour taken out.” “You lucky devil.” No, it just just doesn't sound right. But the feelings were heartfelt and I appreciated the support.
The surgery itself will be interesting. It’s just a day procedure so I’ll just need to skip two days of work, one for each eye. For some reason they won’t do both eyes in one visit. Of course they also do the procedure with just a local anesthetic. Now THAT’s something I’m not looking forward to. Anyway though, I’ll get one done then just have to wear an eye patch at night for a while. Then I’ll get the other one done. I figure there’s a good chance that by September I’ll be seeing better than I have since I was in grade four. On top of that, because the doctor has prescribed the surgery it’s covered by Health Canada, where Lasik is not.
So yes I am a lucky devil.
Thought for the week: Birthdays are good for you. Studies show that the more birthdays you have the longer you live.
Doug & Marsha
PIX. They did the driveway this week. House Project Phase 3 is done. Here's some before and after shots.