Amazing Grace

While reading Hugh Howey’s Shift I was jolted out of the novel by three thoughts in quick succession. The first was an awareness of mild discomfort in my eyes, typical in this ragweed season. The second was a rush of fear of imminent loss – will this crispness fade again? And the third was a response – no, these are my eyes now.

This week I had my first cataract surgery; the next is early in September. They fixed the worse one first. I’m on my fourth day adjusting to the improvement, and I couldn’t be more grateful and relieved. After two years of gradually fading vision, I’m able to see without glasses or contacts.

I’ve missed this.

You won’t mind a little gushing, I hope.

The day after my surgery I started noticing textures everywhere. Seated on my recliner overlooking the edge of a fourth storey rooftop, last week’s formless mat of roofing gravel is this week’s rocky mosaic of cool greys and rusty sandstone. Last week’s dull grey metallic rope encircling the roof’s edge between the lightning rods, is this week’s comforting braid of electrical capacity, sunlight glinting off its armour.

I’ve also witnessed epic scenes, like a feather riding a five storeys up-draft, an encounter between a wasp and an outmatched spider that became a meal in its own trap, and a storm system in a coffee cup – watch for it on black coffee.

For years I’ve preferred dim rooms for reading and computer work. I believe it was the glare. Weeks ago, my optometrist tested my vision through the cataract using a pinhole mask. The improvement was striking. Now that my left eye has a good lens, its pupil is a little smaller than the right. And I find myself gravitating toward brighter spaces again.

In short, the result is everything I’d hoped for and nothing I feared. I have to say this is no accident. Credit to Focus Eye Center and their team. Their processes are worth studying for their comforting meticulousness, and their efficient and effective care. I was one of half a dozen people moving through at the time, and the staff made it look easy.

I didn’t realize how far my cataract had advanced in my “good” eye until this week, when my bad one overtook it for sharpness and focus. If I’d known it would be this easy I would have done it long ago.