Day 12 of 365 - The Gift of Vision
Not long after starting school I was prescribed my first eyeglasses after not being able to read the blackboard. I've been myopic or nearsighted most of my life. Now I am farsighted after having cataract surgery a couple of years ago.
We tend to take our vision for granted until we start losing it. For much of my life, if I could not see well enough it usually meant it was time for a new prescription. I have had many pairs of glasses in my lifetime and also a short period of time when I wore contact lenses.
In the last several years my vision was becoming less clear, but it wasn't something that could be corrected by new eyeglasses. The issue was with the lenses of my eyes, which were forming cataracts. I went through a frustrating period of three or four years when my optometrist was monitoring the cataracts. There was no point in referring me for an ophthalmologist consult until they reached a certain point of maturity. During those years there was also no need to change my corrective prescription. So I just kept rubbing my eyes and cleaning my glasses, hoping to alleviate some of the cloudiness of my vision.
Once I was referred, there was a 6 month wait for the appointment. After I was deemed eligible for surgery there was another 6 month wait for that. After the first surgery on one eye there was another 6 month wait for the surgery on the other. This timeline is different in other locations. It's mainly based upon current waitlists in the area where you live. Had I been willing to pay out of pocket at a private clinic, I could have had it taken care of much sooner.
I paid a small amount for a slight upgrade in the artificial lenses I was getting but the rest of the cost was covered by our provincial health insurance. I was on a cancellation wait list which resulted in my first surgery being done a couple of months sooner than expected, but the second one was a very frustrating 6 months later. During that time I had one 'good eye' and one 'poor eye'. One was farsighted and one was nearsighted. It's quite a challenge for the brain to adapt.
I love to read and it was nearly impossible during that time. I tried taking one lens out of my old glasses but that did not work. Then I tried covering one lens of the recommended strength of reading glasses I would need for my now 'good eye', and that was somewhat better but still terrible for reading books. I only used that method for very time limited reading.
What saved my sanity during that time was audiobooks. Thank goodness they are so readily available now, either through the public library or through a reasonably priced subscription service like Audible.
My optometrist suggested that my cataracts may have been due to overexposure to the sun. It's possible, since I never owned a pair of sunglasses until adulthood. I grew up in the late 50's and early 60's when sunglasses were more of a fashion statement than anything else. We are much better informed nowadays about the need to protect our eyes and we often see even babies wearing sunglasses. Now I do own sunglasses and I wear them on bright days.
After the typical cataract surgery, which corrects for best distance vision, you still need reading glasses. I have one prescription pair which I use for longer times reading books. I have several pairs of over the counter readers in different locations for other shorter needs, like looking at my phone or a recipe. Friends who used to work in the optical field have told me that many people just opt to get new bifocals and wear glasses all the time. I have not reached that point yet. After more than 55 years of wearing glasses I'm still enjoying not having them on the whole time I am awake.
Should the need arise for you to have cataract surgery in the future, read everything you are given and do your research. Once your lens is chosen and inserted there is no do-over unless there are surgical complications.
Now I do not take my vision or vision correction for granted. It's a very precious gift which I would not want to lose. I lost some vitality during those years of increasing visual impairment and I am grateful that there was a solution despite the waiting periods.
We tend to take our vision for granted until we start losing it. For much of my life, if I could not see well enough it usually meant it was time for a new prescription. I have had many pairs of glasses in my lifetime and also a short period of time when I wore contact lenses.
In the last several years my vision was becoming less clear, but it wasn't something that could be corrected by new eyeglasses. The issue was with the lenses of my eyes, which were forming cataracts. I went through a frustrating period of three or four years when my optometrist was monitoring the cataracts. There was no point in referring me for an ophthalmologist consult until they reached a certain point of maturity. During those years there was also no need to change my corrective prescription. So I just kept rubbing my eyes and cleaning my glasses, hoping to alleviate some of the cloudiness of my vision.
Once I was referred, there was a 6 month wait for the appointment. After I was deemed eligible for surgery there was another 6 month wait for that. After the first surgery on one eye there was another 6 month wait for the surgery on the other. This timeline is different in other locations. It's mainly based upon current waitlists in the area where you live. Had I been willing to pay out of pocket at a private clinic, I could have had it taken care of much sooner.
I paid a small amount for a slight upgrade in the artificial lenses I was getting but the rest of the cost was covered by our provincial health insurance. I was on a cancellation wait list which resulted in my first surgery being done a couple of months sooner than expected, but the second one was a very frustrating 6 months later. During that time I had one 'good eye' and one 'poor eye'. One was farsighted and one was nearsighted. It's quite a challenge for the brain to adapt.
I love to read and it was nearly impossible during that time. I tried taking one lens out of my old glasses but that did not work. Then I tried covering one lens of the recommended strength of reading glasses I would need for my now 'good eye', and that was somewhat better but still terrible for reading books. I only used that method for very time limited reading.
What saved my sanity during that time was audiobooks. Thank goodness they are so readily available now, either through the public library or through a reasonably priced subscription service like Audible.
My optometrist suggested that my cataracts may have been due to overexposure to the sun. It's possible, since I never owned a pair of sunglasses until adulthood. I grew up in the late 50's and early 60's when sunglasses were more of a fashion statement than anything else. We are much better informed nowadays about the need to protect our eyes and we often see even babies wearing sunglasses. Now I do own sunglasses and I wear them on bright days.
After the typical cataract surgery, which corrects for best distance vision, you still need reading glasses. I have one prescription pair which I use for longer times reading books. I have several pairs of over the counter readers in different locations for other shorter needs, like looking at my phone or a recipe. Friends who used to work in the optical field have told me that many people just opt to get new bifocals and wear glasses all the time. I have not reached that point yet. After more than 55 years of wearing glasses I'm still enjoying not having them on the whole time I am awake.
Should the need arise for you to have cataract surgery in the future, read everything you are given and do your research. Once your lens is chosen and inserted there is no do-over unless there are surgical complications.
Now I do not take my vision or vision correction for granted. It's a very precious gift which I would not want to lose. I lost some vitality during those years of increasing visual impairment and I am grateful that there was a solution despite the waiting periods.
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