eye see...

 I woke up this morning looking forward to (dreading?) my appointment with my ophthalmologist this afternoon.  At my regular check up last month it was discovered that I had some cloudiness at the back of the lens implanted in my right eye after cataract surgery some years ago.  Evidently this is a common occurrence.  Friends of mine have had the same thing happen.  The treatment for this problem is called a VAG Laser Posterior Capsulotomy.  Doesn't that sound impressive?  This process opens a hole in the back of the capsule holding the lens implant in place which allows more light into the eye and clearer vision.  I have great confidence in my eye doctor.  I have gone to him for years and he has done multiple surgeries on my eyes for one thing and another.  I was first sent to him 23 years ago when my optometrist discovered that I had glaucoma in my left eye.  This was controllable but the damage was not reversable, so I have very limited vision in that eye.  Needless to say that makes me feel very protective of my right eye (my good eye) so when I read in the disclosure material that was provided that the possible side effects of today's procedure could included a detached retina or diminished vision I was understandably a little concerned.  Still, if this was a chance for clearer vision in my right eye I was willing to go for it.  When I got to my appointment this afternoon my eyes were dilated.  I knew this would be part of the process so my spouse was with me to drive me home.  

After my eyes were dilated and pressure checked (8 and 8, very good) I was moved from room to room to room. In each room a nice nurse or tech shone bright lights into my eyes, and used multiple machines to take pictures, scans and so forth.  I could see all of these popping up on screens but I really didn't know what those pictures conveyed.  The doctors, my regular doctor and another on staff, studied the images with great interest.  After much hemming and hawing and even some old fashioned tests (which is better one or two? one or three? How many fingers can you see?) it was decided that while there were little pieces of clouding behind the lens it wasn't serious enough to need any treatment at this time.  It was suggested that I should use eye drops more regularly, especially if I read a lot, which I do, given some free samples, and told to come back in six months.  My wonder spouse and I were both so relieved that we celebrated with dinner and margaritas (only one each) at our favorite Mexican restaurant on the way home.  A very happy ending to this day.