I had my second cataract op last Monday; I was more emotionally prepared for it although still nervous of course. I had been thinking, between the first op and the second, that I really wanted to have some distance vision rather than "only" close up so, at the penultimate moment before the surgeon made his final lens choice I asked timidly "could I have a little more distance vision please?" They checked their lens inventory and, yes, I could. So, here I am, ten days after surgery, seeing quite well without glasses or contact lenses for the first time in 60-odd years. It's still a little wobbly as the two eyes get used to working together without a net. Well, of course not quite a without a net, there are those lenses inside my eyeballs now.
I had quite normal vision until I was about 10 years old and I told the teacher that I couldn't see the blackboard very well. It was the teacher who noticed that one eye seemed to be crossing slightly. She mentioned it to my mother who, after satisfying herself that I wasn't doing it on purpose, trundled me off to an ophthalmologist. He diagnosed lazy eye and I went through a number of months wearing an eye patch after school and doing eye exercises to force the left eye to, I suppose, move better, work better. Take the work load off the right eye. I also went for weekly visits to the extremely gothic Royal Victoria Hospital for other types of exercises. My mother took me and it was during that time that I discovered that my mother had claustrophobia; in my mind's eye I see her getting quite tense while riding up the elevator. Funny how memories surface; I don't remember her getting that way in the Eaton's elevators, perhaps she was more at ease when the elevator was crowded and she didn't realize she was in a box. Hmm, anyway, the whole going to hospital, having my eyes seen too was all quite new back in the day and my parents told me over and over how lucky I was to be living in a time where my eyes could be "fixed". I felt echoes of that this past month with my cataract surgeries.
Between my experience and a younger cousin who had successful eye surgery to correct a worse lazy eye condition, the ophthalmologist was a hero to my family. Interestingly, many years later, when I was in my late teens, my sister mentioned to me a curious practice he had when he looked into our eyes: having us stand up and holding us quite close to him, feeling something hard pressing against us through his trousers. Her telling me about her experience, me confirming that, yes, I remember, she still had to tell me what it was--even though I had had boyfriends by then, the penny hadn't dropped--made us realize he wasn't quite the saint my parents had thought. Still, I never put two and two together until my sister mentioned it to me and now my memories of him are more about that experience than what he did for my eyes. I won't mention his name though, he did a lot of good stuff for ophthalmology in Montreal back in the day and he is long dead.
At any rate, my vision now is quite good post op. I went for my one week follow up yesterday and there still might be one more procedure necessary as the optometrist saw some film behind my eyes that might need lasering. He will follow THAT up in three weeks. For now, no glasses, no restrictions, onward ever onward!
Plans for September? Well, get back to walking the dog again, something both she and I are very happy about. It's still quite hot here (94º yesterday) but the early mornings are lovely. Piles of books to read. With Britbox and Acorn so-so in their new offerings right now, I have been very happy that PBS Masterpiece has released a number: the new Unforgotten (I do miss Nicola Walker though), Season 2 of the English production of Professor T with Ben Miller, Season 3 of Van Der Valk. And in a couple of weeks R and I are going on a weeklong cruise along the California coast. Very much looking forward to having us both relax after a stressful August. Belle will be Going to Grandma's, the doggy boarding kennel that Mitzi used to go to.
I also hope to do some substitute teaching as I am gearing up for another trip in October--this time solo, this time back home to Eastern Canada. Montreal and Toronto. First time in several years. I am so looking forward to that too. So, there's life in the old girl yet!
So happy that both of your surgeries went well! I had only one eye done, the right eye, and I have a distance lens in it. Next Monday I will be examined for my new glasses, which will continue to correct the left eye, and the right side will probably get some reading assistance. The left eye still can operate but I can tell the cataract on that side is there by the difference in how bright the lighting is when I close the left eye and how it dims when I switch to closing the right and opening the left. If I follow my sister's pattern, it will be a couple of years before I have to have the second one done.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I find "life in the old girl"!
How interesting about the childhood memories. I am convinced that your innocence protected you, even though the man was no saint. At least he didn't do worse!