Can You See What I See?

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright, bright Sun-Shiny day.

I think I can make it now, the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I've been prayin for
It's gonna be a bright, bright Sun-Shiny day.

Look all around, there's nothin but blue skies
Look straight ahead, nothin but blue skies.

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright, bright Sun-Shiny day

Lyrics by Johnny Nash


I'm back with my new bionic eyes. I had surgery on June 1 and June 8. Both operations were easy and totally painless. The surgical staff was wonderful, offering lots of encouragement and always cheerful.

For several years I've been aware that I was losing my vision. That's a really scary thing for anyone, but to me it meant that I was having difficulty reading, I could no longer comfortably cross stitch or knit and I couldn't trim the beards on my dogs. I asked my eye doctor several times if I could get them fixed and he kept telling me I wasn't ready. He said I'd know when I was ready.

Earlier this year I realized as I was sitting across the table from Rob, that he was blurry. I could see the buttons on his shirt, but not the little holes in the buttons. It had become almost impossible to differentiate colors, navy from black and shading for my stitching. I had to turn on lights in rooms even during the daytime. To read or work at the computer, I needed a light on either side.

I saw my eye doctor at the end of April and I told him I was ready. He did a few tests and agreed. Two weeks later I met with my surgeon for a whole day of tests and consultations about what I like to do and how important certain things were to me. My surgery dates were set.


Now I am in a three week recovery period. It takes that time for my eyes to heal and my brain to adjust to the changes in my vision. I have very few restrictions, don't rub my eyes. Duh!!

Don't get water in my eyes, just like any other incision.
Use my assortment of eye drops every few hours. They include anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, steroids and artificial tears. I've gotten pretty good at doing the eye drop thing. At first I sent them down my face, but now I usually get them in the eye.


I also have these fashionable sunglasses to wear when I'm in bright sun. The Missouri weather has cooperated with me and there has been very little bright sun, mostly dark overcast days.

At the end of the recovery period I'll be getting some reading glasses for my close up work, but for now the novelty of not wearing glasses is pretty neat. The world looks lighter and brighter.