It's a Miracle!

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This morning was one of the most amazing mornings in my memory.

A bit of history.

I first started wearing glasses in my early twenties. I had never needed glasses, and since the loss of sharpness had happened gradually, I wasn't really aware of it. Then Terry noticed that, at night, I was driving slower and slower. Once he mentioned it, I also became aware of it. We discussed it and decided it was time for me to have my eyes checked.

I went in for an exam, and sure enough, I needed glasses.

I will never forget the day I got my first glasses. Since the degradation of my vision had been so gradual, I really didn't realize what I was missing. All of a sudden, there were leaves on the trees, and buds on the tops of flower stems. That night there was a full moon and it dawned on me that I couldn't remember the last time I had seen the man in the moon.

It was a revelation, and the beginning of my wearing glasses.

Good vision is a real gift, and eyeglasses are pretty wonderful. But they're also something extra you have to put on your face in order to see. You lose the ability to wake up in the morning and see clearly. They're almost always dirty. They're a real pain in the rain.

A true mixed blessing, we're certainly thankful for them. But wouldn't it be nice to do without them? It never occurred to me that that could be the case for me. I've looked into LASIK, but my insurance doesn't cover it and I just couldn't justify the cost. Then about seven years ago, my opthamologist told me I had the beginnings of cataracts, and lately, as regular readers know, they've gotten pretty bad.

So yesterday I had the surgery, and when I woke up this morning, I looked out the window, and the leaves were back on the trees!

I can't begin to describe what this was like. It was like a real miracle, my vision was back, and I could once again see further than two feet in front of my face.

We had a follow up with my Doctor, and I'm sure I drove poor Terry crazy. reading road signs, babbling about all the photo opportunities that I saw.

I felt reborn.

I think I might have scared the Doctor, I was so excited.

They told me that my vision would improve when I had the surgery, but somehow, I missed the idea that I might be able to see without my glasses.

What a gift.

I'm typing this on the computer, using 150 readers, and have done without my prescription glasses all day. I can drive, watch television and just enjoy the horizon. How stupendous.

If you are even considering cataract surgery, I can tell you I'm very pleased with my results (and can hardly wait to get the other eye done next month). The Doctor says there's a possibility that using a closeup lens in my left eye (giving me mono vision) I may do without glasses entirely.

But if my results just stayed like they are, I'd still be pleased.



If you'd like to read an interesting article on the evolution of eyeglasses from "reading stones" circa 1000 up to current times, you can read it here.