Better to See

Suddenly, I'm thirteen.

Thirteen with 60 additional years of experience.

My vision has already improved from 20/60 to 20/20. They say I now have the vision of a thirteen year old. That wouldn't be ME at thirteen. I didn't realize how bad my vision was at 13 until I see what it's like now.

If I had this vision then, I might have lasted a couple more years in baseball.

Maybe even made the varsity. Maybe even started.

So, I'm starting now. It's beyond fantastic and they tell me it's only gonna get better as I become more accustomed to the light. Maybe this is a preview of the after life.

The left eye surgery was like the right except I can't recall what they were saying while they performed the operation. I can only recall a lot of laughter and good vibes in the room. When they wheeled me in, I asked if they had sedated me yet. The nurse said that she was just about to do so.

I guess she did but I remained awake and tried not to join in the laughter surrounding me. Once again, the bright lights and the sensation of water. Once again, I was leaving the OR after barely being in it. I'm getting used to this drill. Kinda wish I had another eye.

Now I get to put into practice my expertise in recovery. I'm already great at it. How do you improve on something that you're already great at. It's a tough question and something that I've never confronted before. In general, you have to work harder but in this case, I don't have to work at all. I'm very, very good at not working.

They fixed me up with another eye shield and off we went.We stopped at a grocery store. I went over to the bakery department and freaked out at the color and design of the baked goods. I'd never noticed the detail before. The baker asked if she could help me. I told her that I'm just looking but I'm looking in a way that I've never looked before. I explained that I was minus a cataract and plus a lens where the cataract used to be. She seemed happy to hear the news and appreciated the fact that I had a greater appreciation for the work that she had done as a result of the work that the surgeon had done on me which she could only imagine.

Here's the deal. First of all the cataract was gone. My sister in law is a nurse who has observed manya cataract surgery. She says the neatest part is when the cataract dissolves. In the place of the cataract is a brand new lens designed especially for me. Addition by subtraction followed by addition by addition.

I don't have to wear glasses anymore.

I've already freaked out several times today wondering where were my glasses before realizing that I didn't need them.

Teevee. Oh yeah. Best teevee  ever.

Reading. Oh yeah. I don't have the book pressed to my nose anymore which means I can read sitting up and holding the book at a distance. This alone multiplies my exercise by two. This exact screen that I'm looking at right now is clearer than any computer screen that I've ever seen. Wouldn't it be nice if my thoughts and actions became clearer and kinder as a result to say nothing of the concept that even in my mid-seventies a condition can not only improve but continue to improve.

Even my balance is better as I lasted more than five seconds standing on one foot.

I'm very thankful as you can tell. I'm trying to figure out the allegory in all of this probably goes somethng like this...the more we see, the more we see there is to see.

Or to see or not to see is no longer the question. It's better to see.

Or the old faithful, it's possible to change without improving but impossible to improve with out changing.