Cataract surgery sheds new light on the world

By Lethbridge Herald on March 11, 2023.

LEAVE IT TO BEEBER
Al Beeber
LETHBRIDGE HERALD

I’m back! And glad to be here talking to you again after two weeks. As I wrote in my last column, I took a week off due to cataract surgery and have one more session of it to go in coming weeks.

I didn’t know what to expect despite reading an enormous amount about the procedure in weeks leading up to my date with the eye specialist at the Chinook Regional Hospital.

I need to give a big shout-out to the staff there for their kindness and courtesy while I awaited my appointment. Nothing gets me more nervous – after all these years – than seeing a doctor or a dentist and I was in full jitter mode.

I’m a little sensitive when it comes to my eyes – it’s why I couldn’t get accustomed to wearing contact lenses when I briefly wore them in the mid 1980s. Now I probably could because I’ve gotten used to putting drops in them since I first started having vision problems late last year. 

But I won’t. I’m looking forward to the day in the next few months when I can discard my prescription lenses and just use generic readers.

After Dr. Kwan’s staff removed the patch from my right eye last week I was shocked at my vision. For the first time since Grade 5 I could clearly see with no glasses  – at least for that eye. But the weakness in my other has caused some need for adjusting to the difference between good eye and bad one.

That’s particularly true when it comes to close range vision. 

For years, I’ve used special prescription glasses for the computer and while long range vision has improved dramatically in my right eye, I still need a reader lens for close-up work. But not one nearly as strong as my fire-starting capable prescription lenses. 

And helping me out with that was Langenberg Optical which has been my go-to place since my first set of glasses back in the 1970s. It was our family’s choice more than 50 years ago and for me, it still is and always will be.

I believe in supporting local when I can and I’m so appreciative of the help I got as I prepared for my return to the office.

If anyone has cataracts, I highly recommend getting the surgery when you are able. It’s life-changing.

Before leaving for the week off, I left a considerable number of potential stories to be covered and I can tell you I’m truly proud of the work Delon Shurtz and the newsroom staff did while I was incapacitated.

I began returning to work last weekend, spending a couple hours each morning gradually working my way through emails and doing some pages to see how the eyes could handle my new reality. And after some severe strain on Saturday, I managed to get the hang of things.

Everyone has a different experience with cataract surgery and now that I know what to expect, I won’t be so nervous next time. I also won’t be taking an entire week off – I fully intend to jump in the car the day after the patch is removed and hit the computer screen here at the office.

Depth perception was definitely problematic for the first few days after surgery so driving was not an option. With both eyes healed, I can’t see that – so to speak – as being a problem.

While I certainly have to deal with some limitations for the next few weeks, I’m relieved that recovery has gone so smoothly. The first 24 hours after surgery, however, were awful. With a thick plastic shield over my taped right eye, I couldn’t wear my regular glasses which meant I was pretty much blind thanks to my the weakness of, and cataract in, my left eye. It was a hugely uncomfortable situation and I felt a bit panicky to be honest.

None of us can take our health for granted and that is particularly true of our vision – without it, we lose so much of life. You truly cannot appreciate that until you can’t see. 

And I’m glad to be seeing my coworkers again and the world around me much more clearly.

Cheers!

Follow @albeebHerald on Twitter.