I want to tell you the whole saga of my eyesight and it occurred to me that it has lasted as long as an IM training cycle. Like Ironman I had many difficult decisions to make, but unlike Ironman, I think I made much better ones. Not that I necessarily knew it at the time, but in hindsight I'm pretty well ready to call the journey a success. By the way, the title of my blog is from a very excellent poem by Robert Frost Called "Two Tramps in Mudtime". I've probably used it before
It was about a year ago that I first went to the optometrist with the suspicion that I was developing cataracts in at least one eye. He confirmed that, and referred me to the one and only local ophthalmologist.
I got in to see him very early in February and as they say, 'without prejudice', what an unpleasant person. I discussed the idea of waiting until after my race in August but he was dead set against that. He considered it of great risk, and relayed a recent story of having to make last minute procedure changes to another patient because he had waited too long. Okay..... He also told me about a different lens option that was available, but that he wasn't really a fan of it, and furthermore, that he didn't offer that particular solution. That lens carried the potential to actually improve my eyesight, beyond just removing the cataract. If I really wanted to consider it he grudgingly agreed to give me a referral to someone who could do it. It's called a Toric lens, designed specifically to improve astigmatism. I requested time to think about it.
The real dilemma, and the really tough first decision I had to make was a choice between taking a break from training and getting it over with, or wait longer while I got my next referral. One one end of the scale was the risk that he knew what he was talking about when it came to waiting, but on the other end was the potential of actually seeing better than perhaps I ever had.
I made the call to wait!
After a bunch of BS with him actually processing the referral, I finally got a call from Dr David Tingey's office at the Ivey Institute. I got in to see him some 2 1/2 months later, and again, "without prejudice' what a pleasant person. He discussed the Toric lens option with me, including of course the risks and opportunities, and when he told me there was a possibility of riding my bicycle without prescription glasses I was sold!! Contrary to the previous physician he was a big fan of this type of lens, had implanted them numerous times, and furthermore he seen no absolutely no risk in waiting until after my race. Okay.....This decision wasn't so hard.
So I waited patiently (NOT!) until our return form Quebec, all the time quite aware that my left eye was getting progressively worse. I remained a bit worried that the first guy was still right about the delay, and it was with some trepidation that I waited for Sept 1st, the scheduled date for my left eye. It didn't help that several days prior to that I got a call from his office advising me that it would be delayed for one week. While I was at first disappointed, I quickly realized that this was a good thing. My second eye was now scheduled only a week after the first, which would mean much less down time overall.
Sept 8th and surgery arrived. Two hours after it was over I was sitting in his chair for a quick followup up and after having a look, he flashed the eye chart on the wall. Much to my surprise I could read several lines, and much to my shock he told me that I was seeing clearly enough to drive without glasses!!!!!!!!!! No freakin way!!!!!! Is this possible? Driving without glasses???
Needless to say it was a gleeful ride home, even if Roo wouldn't actually let me drive, the bitch. Apparently that's against the rules, just because you're maybe a little bit tipsy from the sedative they pumped into my veins.
Driving without glasses!! And riding, and swimming, and running, and going for walks. and roofing, and cleaning the pool, and making the bed, and taking a piss in the middle of the night, and looking at my honey.........holy freaking cow.
But then I got home, took, my left lens out of my glasses and sat down to relax and read for a while. I taught maybe I should try to just check out my new bionic eye on something closeup, and that's when I got the near vision shock I already told you about. I expected to need reading glasses for exactly that, reading, but I did not expect to need them for every normal closeup activity....answering my phone, looking at my watch, using a screwdriver. I was concerned enough to call his office, and I got an immediate invite to come and see him the next day.
After listening patiently to my concerns he gave me 3 options. First, go back in and change the left eye to bring my focus closer. This might mean I could lose some of that driving/riding/swimming glory I was revelling in, and he wasn't really in favour of that option from a technical perspective anyway. The next option was to proceed with the other eye exactly the same way, and accept that i would need to have reading glasses with me at all times. He actually recommended this choice as he believed that over time I would adjust, and that it was also the safest choice. After all, just being able to drive without glasses was way more than I ever expected when I started this journey. We also talked about a third option, and while he wasn't initially in favour of it, after some discussion he came around. That option was to make my right eye different than my left, in the hope that it would at least give me enough closeup vision to do things like answer my phone. Decision time again!
I gave him the go ahead to order the new lens, and much to my surprise they were able to get it in time for my original Sept 15 surgery. It would be one diopter different than my first eye.
About an hour after surgery this time, a technician came in and checked my eye, including a quick look at the eye chart where again I was surprised. Surprised that I couldn't get past the top line!! I put it down to the fact that I had just come off the table, and never thought much more about it.' The doctor also came in, had a quick look, stated his satisfaction, and told me to come back in a week for a followup. This time he didn't ask me to read the chart, and in hindsight I think that was because he already knew what I "couldn't" see. Regardless, we headed home without any worries.
By the time I got home that had changed. I couldn't see a freaking thing out of my right eye, neither near nor far. WTF? Needless to say I wasn't feeling too good, but managed to tell myself that I would wait til the following morning before I would call his office. Meanwhile I chatted with eye expert, sister Mary, and she cautioned me to relax and be patient.
By morning I suddenly had some improved near vision, and I knew exactly why. Actually I felt kind of stupid, because after nearly 50 years of getting my pupils dilated you would think that I knew better. The drops they put in always ruin your near vision for the rest of the day!
I still decided to call the office since, despite improvement, I could not do things like read my phone, which was the hope. Also my distance vision in that eye was way worse than my other one, not just a bit worse like I expected
The day wore on and I didn't hear back from the doctor. The day wore on and my near vision got better yet! The day wore on, and the gap in distance between left and right closed! More discussion with Mary helped me stay grounded, and by the end of the day I decided I wasn't gonna call the doctor back. I'm pretty sure that my message got missed, because previously they always faithfully returned calls on a timely basis.
And in interest of cutting off this lengthy narrative I skip forward to Saturday afternoon, 4 days after my second surgery.
For four days I have not worn a pair of glasses! That's the first time in about 47 years!
Four days later I can ride my bike, and drive my truck without glasses. Although I haven't tried it yet, I'm sure I will be able to swim without corrective goggles, and certainly running will be a breeze.
But here's the kicker! I can answer my phone, read on my tablet, work on my computer, and most importantly, use a screwdriver to install some new outdoor lights on the grandkids house!
I never really thought of the significance of the last part because I can assure you that without the last minute change we made to the right eye, that I would always need glasses to do any of my home handy man stuff. I would struggle to read a tape measure.
Of course not everything's perfect as I still am experiencing some ups and downs in acuity, and at night all the cars have 4 headlights until they get close enough. I also get a wee bit disoriented at time but I think that's just my tow eyes learning to work together. But nothing's perfect, and I can live with all of those things.
And like everything else I suppose my wonder will pass, but for now I remain in absolute awe of what has been accomplished. I have to give Dr Tingey unlimited credit of course, for both his technical skill and his bedside manner I also have to say thanks once more to Mary, as she has talked me throughout this for the entire year, including getting expert opinions from her extensive resources, and even doing reference checks on the doctors that I saw. But I also am very proud of the difficult decisions I made along the way. Because of my questioning nature, we achieved way more than I even considered possible at the outset!! I'm content.
If the doc okays it, and the weather permits it, I'm gonna go for a bike ride next week. That will be he first time since Tremblant, and I promise to tell you all about it.
And that's the end of a long story. If you skipped ahead to this part don't apologize. I know that's it's not very well written, but I just needed to get it down for my own sake. Game on!
...I like this, and it seemed timely...
"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."---Marcel Proust
Love
Peter
