Well, It Happened

The eye operation I was scheduled to undergo, that is.

It wasn't the cataract surgery I'd written about earlier. (Last month, I was told by the ophthalmologist scheduled to do what turned out to be yesterday's surgery that putting me through cataract surgery at this present time might mean losing my eyesight.)

Yesterday's operation had to do with repairing the retina in my left eye.

A couple of months ago, when I made my first visit to Midwest Eye Care in eleven years, I was told that a retinal rip had been found in that left eye (as well as the cataract in said peeper).

So yesterday, at 9:30 AM (Central time), Dr. David Ingvoldstad (the O.D. I met last month) and one of the clinic's nurses, Sarah Plagman (Sarah, I hope I got your last name right!), went to work on that offending eyeball of mine.

First of all, I received six drops of dilating fluid (Sarah was hoping that just three would turn the trick); then, when the left eye proved it was lubricated enough, a numbing fluid was added.

Then David put a new lens into my left eye. And after that (with Sarah holding my head so that my chin would stay on the bar), he administered four laser blasts to that left eye.

The whole thing was completed by 10:00 AM.

And something I'd agonized about for almost two weeks turned out to be fine.  

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they didn't have to stick a patch over the affected eye once the operation ended. (The patch would've gone on if a local anesthetic had been applied around that left eye.) What's more, I was told that I could immediately go back to my pre-surgery activities...like reading, watching TV, computer work, etc., etc. 

After yesterday's argon retina laser operation, my left eye feels a bit better...for now.

The final verdict is yet to come, for it usually takes a month or so before argon patients can tell the difference in their eyesight. (I'm still worried about the halo effect in my left eye.)

Well, for me, the next test comes on 1-18-2016, when I come back to the Midwest Eye Care office at 4353 Dodge St. here in Omaha. 

Here's hoping yesterday's operation turns out to be a complete success.

I Don't Want to Wait Another Eleven Years

On 10-13-2015, I went to Midwest Eye Care at 4353 Dodge St. here in Omaha to do something I hadn't taken care of in eleven years: Undergo an eye exam.

I was hoping to replace the eyeglasses I bought there the last time I visited the facility- the first set of bifocals I've ever owned.

Instead, the staff told me it was time to get cataract surgery. (Dr. Scott Greder and his staff found a single cataract in my left eye...the only thing wrong with either of my peepers. Outside of my needing glasses to begin with, that is.)

Felt stunned to find this out.

Ever since then, I've experienced all kinds of emotions; almost everything from grief to anguish to relief. (After all, when you have to close your left eye to get clarity when you're driving at night, you've got to do something to correct the situation. And when you experience a halo effect when you're trying to see, you need to do something to fight the situation.)

After I got home from a trying shift of work, I got home and went to the very computer on which I'm typing this post. I started doing some research on cataract surgery...and when I reached www.mayoclinic.org and read up on what the Mayo staff had to say about the procedure, well...let's face it. 

Tears came to my eyes.

Okay, I've probably now lost the support of any rap music fans by admitting tears ever came to my eyes about anything. (You know what some rappers and some of their fans have to say about men who've shed tears. With that in mind, how would they feel about Jesus in John 11:35?)

The day after the Midwest Eye Care appointment, I started asking around about what it's like to go through cataract surgery. 

One of my coworkers at a local plastics factory went through this last year; after both his eyes got the treatment, he's seeing much better than before. 

My ten-going-on-eleven-year-old nephew has already undergone the surgery twice...when he was three, then again five years later.

Found out the procedure is commonplace, and it takes anywhere from five to twenty minutes (at the fewest) thanks to laser technology. And you get to come home the same day of the surgery.

In all, according to the Mayo Clinic Website, it takes eight weeks to fully recover from the operation. 

I was able to get the eye exam in the first place due to receiving a bonus from the company I work for. Even with health insurance through the company, I've still got to be ready to pay a deductible. Right now, I'm all set financially to fork over the deductible dough.

I'm scheduled to go on a consultation at MEC at 2:00 PM on 11-24-2015; afterwards, I'll be able to find out when my own operation will take place. (I'd rather get in on laser technology than the old procedure- the one with tiny knives. Laser surgery is more accurate than the old system.)

So in the meantime, I'm working to take comfort in the chance to see better than before (and get in on experiencing more vivid colors and sharper images).

Who knows? Maybe, fifty years after putting on my first pair of glasses, I might not need them anymore.

Here's what I do know:

I don't want to wait another eleven years to get these eyes checked out.