My new view of the world

I see the world differently now. I don't mean psychologically. It doesn't have anything to do with the COVID pandemic or the Black Lives Matter protests. I mean physically. I had cataract surgery and am amazed by what a change it's making in my vision.

I have bad eyes. My ophthalmologist says "very bad eyes." I got glasses when I was about 10 years old. My school teacher must have told my mother that I couldn't read things on the blackboard. So we went to an eye doctor. He checked my eyes and confirmed that I am very near-sighted. He put on a pair of sample glasses that approximated my prescription. I looked out the window and saw people walking by. "Am I supposed to be able to see people on the sidewalk?" I asked in amazement.

Before cataract surgery

So I wore glasses for about 8 or 9 years. During my freshman year in college my parents agreed to let me get contact lenses. I wore contacts for a long time. But eventually, probably about 20 years later, I realized that I was having trouble reading. So I got a pair of reading glasses for the office. I'd get up before work and put in my contacts. Then, at the office, I'd wear readers for most of the day while working at my desk and computer.

Finally, I couldn't figure out why I was doing that. When my eyes got to the point where I needed another new correction, instead of replacing the contacts I got bifocal glasses. (They were actually progressive lenses so there was no visible line where the reading lenses started.) 

They worked great for me for several years. My vision did keep changing, and I think over the years I ended up with 3 different pairs of bifocals. But somewhere when I was in my late 50s or early 60s, I began having trouble seeing well even with my glasses. I've been seeing an ophthalmologist for many years. Besides being near-sighted, I am regularly evaluated for glaucoma. (My glaucoma screening always comes back normal. But my doctor says that people who are very near-sighted are more susceptible.) Also, a few years ago, after I retired, I had a detached retina and had eye surgery to repair that. During one of my routine appointments, I complained to the doctor about having trouble seeing well even with glasses. She confirmed that I had cataracts.

After cataract surgery

At first, she didn't encourage me to have surgery to remove the cataracts. She explained that with my extreme near-sightedness and the other eye problems, relatively simple cataract surgery would not be so simple for me.

Finally, I prevailed. It seemed like my eyes were getting worse and worse. When walking with my wife, she'd point to things (like a bird high up in a tree) and I couldn't see it. When riding my bike, I couldn't read the street signs until after I'd passed the intersection. While reading, I'd see ghost images that made it difficult to read for an extended length of time. My drivers license expires this coming November. I was worried that I would fail the vision test to get it renewed.

I had hoped to have the surgery done in April so that it wouldn't interfere with summer outdoor activities. But the State of Minnesota put a ban on elective surgeries during the initial response to the COVID pandemic. When the ban was finally lifted in May, I got my surgery scheduled.

The surgery on my right eye was June 2. My doctor was right; the surgery did take longer than usual, and it was more difficult. When I went in the next day for my first post-op exam, I was thrilled that I could see 20-20 out of my right eye! That was exciting. But that wasn't the only surprise.

When I first needed glasses, nearly 60 years ago, I didn't realize how bad my vision was. As the cataracts developed, I did realize that my eyes were getting worse. What I didn't realize was how else the cataracts were affecting my vision. The day after my surgery, I would look outside and alternate covering my left and right eyes. Not only did I see clearly and sharply with my right eye, but the colors were brighter and crisper.

My left eye is scheduled for surgery later in June. In the meantime, I've got one good eye and one not so good. I've resumed wearing a contact lens in my left eye. It gives me good distance viewing. I still have ghost images when reading, but my good eye is compensating, and I see much better even though the left eye still has cataracts.

Of course, I still have to wear reading glasses. But it's worth it.