Cataracts: Finding light in a dark situation
Hearing the words “You are going to need cataract surgery” is not something that brings joyful feelings. Yet, you know it is a necessary procedure that you will have to endure. I am one who needed both eyes done, and so I resigned myself to it because I wanted to see better.
Cataracts are sneaky devils, and creep up on you very slowly, so that you are not even aware that your eyesight is deteriorating until it seems as if you are looking through a fogged up window. I noticed street lights at night had halos, and the glare of bright headlights became annoying. Some people develop double vision, a minor loss of night vision, even colors seem faded. Aging is one of the causes of cataracts. Not everyone with a cataract will need surgery, and your eye doctor will keep tabs on it for you. Cataracts usually take years to develop, although in some cases they will come on quickly, as happened to my husband.
Your eye doctor will perform a retinal exam by dilating your eyes and looking at your lens with an opthalmoscope. There is no pain involved. The nurse will put some numbing drops in your eyes to administer the glaucoma test, if you are a candidate for that as well. Cataract surgery involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with a synthetic one. Three
Senior Living days before my surgery, I started using eye drops several times a day to prep the eye. The morning of surgery was mostly waiting my turn as they operate on the diabetic patients first, as it should be. The waiting room had a coffee urn for folks who were accompanying the patients to drive them home afterward. The smell of fresh coffee I could not drink was my only torture that day.
When it’s your turn, they call you to the pre-op area. They check your vitals such as blood pressure, etc. Special little sensors get placed on your body and they put what seems like nine gazillion drops in your eye. My doctor put on my forehead a “this is the eye to work on” mark and handed my husband the marker telling him he can write a love note on my forearm, which my spouse did.
The anesthesiologist — a very nice Dr. Ramirez with a sense of humor — stopped by to reassure me that all would be well and reminded me that this procedure would take all of seven minutes. He smilingly told me he would give me a great “margarita” and that this would be over before I knew it. He was correct.
They wheeled me into the operating room, and after they administered the meds (my margarita), I watched a kaleidoscope of colors while the doctor worked on me. Pretty pinks and blues — well that was interesting. There was absolutely no pain. Shortly after, I was done and wheeled into the recovery area. The nurse handed me a ginger ale, which I greedily consumed as I had a wicked case of cotton mouth due to not being allowed any liquids before surgery. I even sucked on most of the ice as well. My blood pressure, after being a bit high pre-surgery, had returned to normal. I was given paperwork to take home, including a clear eye patch for wearing while sleeping.
I would be remiss if I did not thank Dr. Gary Tanner (from Hampton Roads Eye Associates) and his team at the Riverside Hampton Surgery Center for their care. At my follow-up appointment, Dr. Tanner mentioned that I was very chatty during the procedure and did I remember that? I did not, but told him he should have just given me more margarita, which of course, I guess he did. Take me away to Margaritaville? If only it would have tasted like that frosty concoction. That would have made my day.
Cataracts are sneaky devils, and creep up on you very slowly, so that you are not even aware that your eyesight is deteriorating until it seems as if you are looking through a fogged up window.
Jackie Grant is retired from the travel/tourism field, volunteers with Meals on Wheels, and writes freelance articles. Contact her at grantjackie21@gmail.com.