Yes I am glad to say that my long-anticipated operation is done and dusted. I am not sure whether I am pleased or disappointed with the result. It wasn't the 'quick fix' I was hoping for but I should have known better. I have worn glasses for close work since I was eleven so my eyesight was poor even before the cataract started to grow, so removing it was never going to make everything clear. However, it is a bit clearer, and colours are brighter. With my old glasses on I can see as well as I did before, and I have been functioning 'one-eyed' for so long now, that one more month won't make much difference. After a month I will be assessed for new glasses, and hopefully then, the improvement will be more noticeable.
The operation itself was not a pleasant experience and took rather longer than expected. I was put off when one of the first things he did was to put oxygen tubes in my nose and tell me that he would be covering my whole face for the operation. Now I am one of those peoples who starts to fight them off if the bedclothes dare to creep above my chin, and as soon as he laid the cloth on my face, I felt the panic rising. But I had a few sharp words with myself and breathed deeply on the oxygen, and actually it was alright. I managed to switch off inside and remain quite still throughout. Afterwards he told me I had been a very good patient, 'Muy tranquillo'. Half way through the operation he asked me whether I had ever had any trauma to the eye (not that I can remember), because it was not a 'normal' cataract and was hard to remove. Because it was 'different' (his words in '...') he put a bubble under it which meant that I couldn't see with it at all until the next day. I had to be at the hospital for 8.00 in the morning, and the first hours were spent having drops put in my eyes. I went to the theatre around 1.30. I had not been allowed to eat or drink all day so I was starving and would have loved a cup of tea, so I was grateful when they brought me a meal, Spanish style of course. There was a nice vegetable soup, cold fish filets and salad, and fruit, but no tea! Later we were given a cup of hot milk and sachets of coffee and sugar so, not being a coffee drinker, I just drank the milk, and was glad of something warm. It was actually quite cool on the ward and I hadn't dressed for that as usually I roast in hospitals. Then I had to stay until 8.00 p.m. before they would let me go home. I was the last eye patient to leave. I had to be back there for a check up at 9.00 the next morning. It would have been easier to give me a bed and keep me there! I am back there again in a week's time and then in a month, by which time I will hopefully be ready to have an eye test and new glasses. In the meantime I have two lots of drops to use, one four times a day and one six times, for the next couple of weeks, and then less often for the next month.
A big thank you to everyone who sent me good wishes and who were praying for me on the day. It was really appreciated. When he told me I had been a good patient I said "Mi Dios es conmigo" and he smiled. I hope that is because he understood what I said and he wasn't just smiling at my apalling Spanish accent! Hasta luego!!
The operation itself was not a pleasant experience and took rather longer than expected. I was put off when one of the first things he did was to put oxygen tubes in my nose and tell me that he would be covering my whole face for the operation. Now I am one of those peoples who starts to fight them off if the bedclothes dare to creep above my chin, and as soon as he laid the cloth on my face, I felt the panic rising. But I had a few sharp words with myself and breathed deeply on the oxygen, and actually it was alright. I managed to switch off inside and remain quite still throughout. Afterwards he told me I had been a very good patient, 'Muy tranquillo'. Half way through the operation he asked me whether I had ever had any trauma to the eye (not that I can remember), because it was not a 'normal' cataract and was hard to remove. Because it was 'different' (his words in '...') he put a bubble under it which meant that I couldn't see with it at all until the next day. I had to be at the hospital for 8.00 in the morning, and the first hours were spent having drops put in my eyes. I went to the theatre around 1.30. I had not been allowed to eat or drink all day so I was starving and would have loved a cup of tea, so I was grateful when they brought me a meal, Spanish style of course. There was a nice vegetable soup, cold fish filets and salad, and fruit, but no tea! Later we were given a cup of hot milk and sachets of coffee and sugar so, not being a coffee drinker, I just drank the milk, and was glad of something warm. It was actually quite cool on the ward and I hadn't dressed for that as usually I roast in hospitals. Then I had to stay until 8.00 p.m. before they would let me go home. I was the last eye patient to leave. I had to be back there for a check up at 9.00 the next morning. It would have been easier to give me a bed and keep me there! I am back there again in a week's time and then in a month, by which time I will hopefully be ready to have an eye test and new glasses. In the meantime I have two lots of drops to use, one four times a day and one six times, for the next couple of weeks, and then less often for the next month.
A big thank you to everyone who sent me good wishes and who were praying for me on the day. It was really appreciated. When he told me I had been a good patient I said "Mi Dios es conmigo" and he smiled. I hope that is because he understood what I said and he wasn't just smiling at my apalling Spanish accent! Hasta luego!!
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