My Eyes

This post is about eyes, but not my daughter’s for a change.   I’ve had a lot done to my eyes, interestingly enough some of the same things my daughter has had done to hers, only in my case it was elective, done to improve my vision.

In 2013 I looked into improving my vision with LASIK but found out I wasn’t a good candidate because my corneas were too flat.   What could be done was something called a “Clear Lens Exchange” that would not only improve my vision, it would arrest the progressing need for reading glasses due to hardening lenses we experience as adults, known as presbyopia.

The surgery involved removing my natural lenses and replacing them with artificial ones.   It’s a very common surgery but most people know it by a different name—cataract surgery.   A cataract isn’t something you grow, it’s something that becomes.   It’s your natural lens but over time it’s clouded and the term used to describe the lens at that point is a cataract.   In my case, I didn’t have clouded lenses so instead of cataract surgery (by name), I had “Clear Lens Exchange” surgery, which is the exact same surgery, only my lenses were fine other than the hardening, making it more difficult for me to focus and see some near and far distances.

The surgery on the left and right eyes were successful although some tweaks had to be done afterwards.   The left lens is great for close vision but isn’t perfect at distance.   The right lens is stellar at distance but can be annoying close up.  And all that means my brain has to deal with one fuzzy image and one clear image when I’m looking at things close up.   For distance my brain relies more on my right eye and uses the left eye for depth perception.

In the adjustments following surgery I had AK (to correct for the astigmatism in both eyes) LASIK in my right eye to fine tune the visual range and PRK in my left eye to adjust my focal length because the artificial lens didn’t settle in the position the doctor had targeted.

So both my daughter and I have had our natural lenses removed.   She doesn’t have artificial ones implanted for a number of reasons due to her age and the complexity and state of her eyes.  Next I had something done called a YAG Capsulotomy.   The lens capsule that holds the natural lens in place  in the eye is thin and crumples somewhat like cellophane once the artificial lens is implanted—artificial lenses being small, mechanical devices that take up far less space in the lens capsule than the natural lens.

The YAG capsulotomy is simply a laser that targets the lens capsule in the area of your field of vision and blows a hole in the capsule, affording you a clear, unobstructed or obscured line of sight.   It’s an easy procedure in the office that takes five minutes with no discomfort.   I literally only heard the laser pop and felt nothing.

My daughter has also had her lens capsules opened in both the front and the back.   Her openings have been due to the lens removal and subsequent scar tissue removal in one eye.   So we’re the same there.   The only difference is I can see well without glasses and she can’t see at all.

And I’m enormously thankful for the vision I have, but it did seem to be getting to be a worse offset with the left and right.  I noticed it most when reading to the children at night before bed.  Since it had been over four years, I thought it might be time to go for a reevaluation with my eye surgeon.

And here’s what I found out.   I have 20/15 distance vision, which is pretty nice—I had no complaints there.   But my near vision was still 20/30, with the right eye being somewhat better were it not dragged down by the left.    The near vision can be corrected, but there’s a catch—I would have to sacrifice the distance vision to bring the near vision in line with the other eye, that’s just how it works, the lenses can only do so much.

The doctor told me I had achieved optimal results but I had another option (one I had known about and had been doing for a bit before the appointment).   I could work on the muscles of my left eye.    Once the artificial lens in in place, there is no time limit on when you can work and develop the eye muscles.  Just like you can get in shape by exercising in general at any age. There’s a chance I can bring the left eye closer in line with the right, mitigating some of the uncomfortableness reading and doing closeup work.

All I have to do is patch the right eye (or keep it shut) and do something that will push the limits of the focal capabilities of the left eye.  So I’ve been working on it a bit each day.   Hopefully I’ll see some improvement soon.   For instance, as I type this I’m using only my left eye and while I can read everything, it’s not crisp.   But I can tell my eye muscles are trying like fury to bring it into focus.

So if you see me looking like a pirate or think I’m doing a really long wink at you, I’m probably just working on my vision.

The Big Boy Update:  At dinner my son declared, “I’m a dad that hasn’t had children yet.”

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter wanted to make a birthday present for our adult friend, Nitin, tonight as we’re celebrating his birthday at Movie Night.   She didn’t tell me her plan and I think it evolved as we worked but she taped two pieces of paper together, drew a lot of things on it and had me write a birthday message to Nitin.   Then she wanted to roll the two sheets into a cylinder and tape it.   Her next idea was to cut a circle and tape it to the bottom of the cylinder.   So I had to find my circle cutter because I can’t handle inaccurate cutting, but my OCD on things like that would be best addressed in another blog post.   Anyway, circle cutter found and we had a red paper circle the same diameter as her cylinder.   We taped it on and then she went to the candy bowl and put candy in it for Nitin.   I’m not entirely sure how Nitin will be able to read his card, but it’s a pretty creative present from a five-year-old.