live without them: EYEs {Final seQuel}

I haven’t written about my vision in some months so allow me to expand on the condition of my eyes. I still cannot believe it’s been over 10 months since my eyes were improved through the application of the wavefront PRK procedure. I elected this procedure as I wanted the ability of looking through camera viewfinders.

Of course, I had fears..... many fears! At one time in my life, I had the best eyes in my family; then I grew up and due to bad habits around the television and drawing in near pitch-black rooms, my eyesight simply deteriorates till I needed glasses, and began wearing glasses when I was about 15 till last year. All glasses I've ever wore/used were of the photogray type, darkening in sunlight and clearing indoors. I have never used ever clear glasses and can never understand how others can buy just clear glasses for outdoors. Now glassless, I've been in bright sunlight without sunglasses and am blinded by how bright it is out there! WoW!!

if I lost my Vision ~ could I see such delights?

I used all the post-operative medication and followed all instructions to the “T”, me who short-cuts everything. I never follow anything to the letter till now and with my so-important eyes. After all, my vision is probably the most necessary item contributing to my photography, aside from my mind. I’ve know several people who have had the lasik procedure, even in Spain, and when I decided on my surgery, asked them and they just wished me luck and not one advisory or cautious word. I researched the procedure online and talked to others who have had the procedure done, and they didn’t say anything negative about their procedure except for the halo effect afterwards.

Without my eyes, how could I possibly capture this cloudy sunset?

Little by little my eyes has improved and am confident it will improve even more in the weeks to come. I expected this and discovered my poor night vision was so bad that driving at night due was out of the question almost immediately for the first three months after the procedure, but it’s improved now to the point I don’t even think of it. I use little signs and scenes seen everyday to judge my vision healing process, and it’s so improved since those earlier months. One first test each day is a small digital clock located with a black background, about 11 feet from my bed. When I started with my new eyes, I couldn’t see the bright thin digits indicating the time. Each day as I wake, this was and is the first thing when I start my day and eventually the last object I see at the end of the day. During the day I can see it perfectly, but as the light disappeared and dark dominated, I discovered I couldn’t see the numbers against the dark background. In daylight, it’s perfect but come night, I could not distinguish the numbers sharply. Starting at about the fifth post-op month, the numbers started to be slowly clear and become sharper. Today – as it has been for a few weeks now – it’s been so perfect. Sharp in the daylight and remaining sharp throughout the day till night and beyond!

It’s amazing how eyes play such an important role in one’s life. Unless one loses their sight, one cannot take something so simple and taken for granted as is breathing, but it is so important that without it one is more than “blind”, and I shutter to think what if…..

I can now see and read a USA corner street sign from about half a block away. In some cities such as SF where supplemental GREEN street signs are added in addition to the normal signs, I can see these green signs as far as a block away. I can easily read speed limit signs on freeways, highways and streets as far as a block away depending on my vehicle speed. hahahaaa I cannot wait till I return to southern Spain where the tiny antique street signs are located on the corners on the building/home walls. Much smaller than here, that will be a real test!!

Highway informational signs in blue, green and brown I can read as far as three truck lengths away, depending on truck length. Billboards on and off the highways, painted on city downtown buildings or atop roofs, I can see clearly from blocks away depending on size.

My sight is great and I know it will continue to slowly improve and give me even better vision than last week and last month. My biggest fear of this whole event was my possibly losing my eyesight, or even ending up with poorer vision than I originally had with the glasses. Can you imagine me, who lives behind the viewfinder, without sight?

I looove living and seeing without glasses! Now I’ve purchased sunglasses to shade my eyes against that brightness…. Life is very cool without those “other” glasses!!!
How can I possibly enjoy the color, the flash of lights, and the wonder of fireworks if not for my Vision?

Update 29 July 2019: Well,, all things must come to an end. About three years ago while in Spain, I had an situation while on the street where my left eye apparently did not work correctly. I had just crossed a very busy street, turned left on the sidewalk and after a few steps, in my left eye I start THREE of everything! Luckily, I had reached a corner, and there was a street sign, which I walked slowly to and held on for dear life! I closed my eyes and blinked a few times, but the condition remained. Leaning against the post now, I closed my left eye and found my right eye was still good. Closed the right eye and the condition was still there in threes. After a few minutes, both eyes were back to normal again but it did scare the film outa me! Luckily, there was an office off the street where I knew the people. I went there immediately while my vision was "normal". I explained my situation to my office friend and asked to use their bathroom so I could splash water into my eyes, and to check for anything in my eye that may be causing this. A few splashes was nice as it was a hot day in southern Spain, but nothing visible in the eye, but the vision was still good. I thanked my friend and continued home, and since that scary blind event, it has NOT occurred again. A few months later, I found an old pair of glasses and started wearing them again. My "new" fixed eyes weren't as they were before, and I had to wear glasses again. Before I departed Spain, I had actually found an old pair of glasses in my Rota apartment that worked quite well enough, and worn those till I got a new pair while visiting San Francisco in late 2016, and again another new pair of glasses on a new prescription, just a few weeks ago in western New York (WNY). Strangely but with little surprise, I was told my left eye is close to blind while my right eye is still good and correctable. Now with a NEW update pair of glasses I am able to see a lot of wildlife that Sheila would point out to me but I couldn't see, and would miss entirely! It was kind of my sister to get me new eyes, and they did last for several years, but at least I DO have eyes that function, and I can wear glasses to correct my vision.