Published: October 12, 2009 10:03 pm         

Blue and greens revitalized

What did they mean I needed cataract surgery?

I could see perfectly all right — with glasses, of course — and wouldn’t cataracts have made everything hazy and unclear? Well, I DID have to blink and refocus to be certain of those little numbers in crossword puzzles, but maybe they are making the print smaller these days. And, if I read for more than an hour or so at a time, I had watery eyes. Still, I didn’t actually have any trouble SEEING! I could even see to drive at night, OK, there were those little halos around oncoming headlights, but I could see the car.

But, when a “minor correction” in my prescription didn’t make the crossword clues any clearer or add to my quality time with a book, or eliminate the halos, I sucked it up and turned myself in for a referral.

The project pretty much shot the summer. Pre-op required a program of eye drops, not to mention considerable apprehension on my part. The thought of someone messing around with my eyes was a downer. I had to believe the doctor knew what he was doing.

My Best Friend watched the video in the waiting room which — he said — explained everything. He urged me to watch too, but after a quick peek, I decided there were some things I was happier not knowing.

D-Day arrived all too soon and I reported as ordered to the surgical center. The nurses couldn’t have been nicer, the doctor reported on time and the whole thing was over in about 20 minutes. It never hurt! I wasn’t asleep and it didn’t hurt!

The nurses handed me a glass of orange juice, another shot of eye drops and a pair of VERY dark glasses and I was sent home. I was not offered a seeing-eye dog. I might have liked that, but it wasn’t in the cards.

The second eye was easier. It was three weeks later and I knew what to expect, friendly helpful nurses and a speedy and competent surgery.

It has been about a month now and I’m still doing post-op eye drops. The halos have disappeared (they WERE pretty, but they are gone).

What I notice most are the lovely colors I hadn’t realized I was missing. Blue looked gray and green a rather dull brownish color. I can tell shades of blue now and green too. I got my new glasses a couple of weeks ago and no longer squint to work crossword puzzles.

I wonder now why I waited so long and fought it so hard!