After a king-hell panic attack on the morning of the ophthalmologist's appointment (like, let's get him to the doctor and find out why he's acting like he's got the DTs), I finally managed to make it to the ophthalmologist's another day.
Long story short: cataract in the right eye, about 75 percent developed -- taking my otherwise sterling -14.25 vision to something closer to -22, and uncorrectable.
Cataract in the left eye, getting started, enough to justify replacement of both lenses -- the ones that fit in my head.
After a literal lifetime of blurry vision, and 47 years of a foreign object on my face, I go into the doctor this week for the first of two surgeries to restore my sight to a place it's never been . . . fingers crossed.
And the new "another set of eyes" -- courtesy of some biomedical lab somewhere -- should get a good spin around the block rather quickly. February and March are already crazy.
addendum
I didn't mean to cut it that short. I'm not wanting to jinx anything, but it's obviously on my mind. And I don't want to talk too much. I fear the czarina was over it long ago.
I've begun to wonder what "blind" really means. I always presumed "darkness." But someone with two eyes of the current condition of my right eye could not live without assistance -- yet could "see" a whole range of things. As some guy I spoke to locally said a few months back, even before I knew about the recent developments, "People who don't see like we do don't understand that, for them, a speck of light in a dark room is a speck, but for us, it's a big glow." Exactly right, and I never thought of it that way.
Just like with, uh, Rush Limbaugh, who did his show while "deaf" for three months. I can't imagine that "deaf" in that case meant "entirely without receiving any sound." If it was, that's a hell of an accomplishment -- and I don't understand it. (Then again, I don't understand radio.)
Time for Dr. Frankenstein to replace a few bolts.
6 comments:
Czar, new eyes??? Ecstatic fr ya'. Hope recovery is smooth an' czarina is attentive , heh...I'se jes' gonna skip all the Braille jokes an' go right to the new eyes new perspective joke...best to ya' good sir.
Thanks, Aunty. As I just stated in an email to Moi, I'm in that weird place where one faulty eye's been corrected, and one hasn't, but the latter is still corrected with lenses. So, I have two pretty well-functioning eyes at this point, but they are not set up to function in the same brain. I feel like I'm looking through a Mobius strip. By mid-March, all should be well. Taking four sets of three eyedrops each day also feels way too much like exercise.
The marvel of it! Had you been born in yore grandpappy's day, no such wonder would be yore consolation fer greydom. So excited fer ya, Czar.
Beethoven wrote his 9th supposedly totally deaf, Helen Keller went on to do exceptional things as well. But it's impossible to do what you do without being able to see. So I'm totally thrilled this is all coming together for you. I'll second Aunty's sentiment about the miracles of modern medicine. Now, if only they could do something about tone deaf.
@Aunty: Had I been born in my grandpappy's day, I probably would have had to find some honest work to do, like making brooms. Went back for the first week check-up today. Doctor said the healing looks "perfect." Very pleasant guy, especially for a doctor.
@Moi: Next to being able to see, being able to sing would be very high on my list.
I don't even sing "Happy Birthday" at parties, my voice is that bad.
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