Thursday, May 31, 2018

Cataract Removal in Left Eye


left cataract removal
Yesterday morning I had the cataract removed from my left eye. I was a little less anxious since I knew what to expect. They did give me a little more of the sedation drug since I had told them I didn't experience anything the last time, and it certainly didn't relax me for the surgery. I can't say that it did anything for me during the second surgery either, but boy did it affect me after the fact.

The surgery went well, and before I knew it I was being wheeled out with my juice and pretzels to meet Jim. I was quite hungry as I had nothing to eat or drink after dinner Tuesday night, and it was now 11:15 on Wednesday. I remember finishing the pretzels and my drink in the car, and then bam! I was out like a light until Jim pulled into our drive. After he helped me in the house and I ate an English muffin, I crawled into bed and slept for 4 hours! Apparently that sedation drug impacts me after surgery if not during. I can't remember the last time I have napped that long. I was afraid I would not be able to go to sleep that night, but it was no problem.

Today I had to see Dr. Pepose at 7:45 in the morning. Jim drove me as I still had to wear the plastic shield over my eye. I definitely would not want to drive looking through it. The doctor looked at both eyes, and the pressure in my right eye has dropped to 9, which is excellent. The left eye was 20, which is high but not unexpected. Dr. Pepose seemed very pleased with my progress. Like last time, I am on limited activity until he sees me next Tuesday, and I only have to wear the shield when I am sleeping.

designer shades
Having the brightness and clarity in both eyes now is quite remarkable. My eyes are a bit sensitive to the light, but that should calm down in the next couple of days. My uber-expensive, designer (hah!) sunglasses help outside at least. I can't wait to see what my reading level will be next week when I go in. Hopefully the reading glasses will be a thing of the past, or at least only be necessary in low light/small print situations. Speaking of small print, I find it extremely ironic that the writing on eye drops is so minuscule. It is impossible for people with poor eyesight to make out, and once you add the first drop to you eyes, forget about it. While the lids are different colors, it is not helpful if I can't read the sheet that tells me which eye drop to use next.

Anyhoo, it is great to have this experience behind me. It was inevitable that I would get cataracts since both my parents and at least one of my siblings had them, so hopefully I will have a lot of years ahead to enjoy my enhanced vision.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Memorial Day Weekend 2018

It was a hot and humid weekend here in the Midwest. I guess that was a boon for the swimming pools, but it was hard on the rest of us. We did some work around the house on Saturday, and then Sunday morning Jim went out for a motorcycle ride. My friend picked me up at 7:00 in the morning, and we made the trek down to Eminence, Missouri to see if we could find the wild horses again. There are some new colts, including one that is only a couple weeks old.

Regular or Unleaded?
We did not find wild horses at either of the two fields we had visited in April, though we did see many domestic horses. Riders were everywhere, including at the gas station where we stopped to buy cold drinks and use the restroom. It is a big equestrian area of the state.

We came to the conclusion that we would not see any of the wild herds due to the heat and the fact that the area was teaming with tourists floating on the river. Determined to make the most of it, we photographed flowers, an old car, and other items that struck our fancy. We had lunch in town, and then tried to go to Rocky Falls Shut-In, where we could not get anywhere near the parking lot. It was packed!
Eminence, Missouri
We decided to head for home, and just as we rounded the curve at the entrance to Echo Bluff State Park, we spied part of the Echo Bluff horse herd. The two mares and the newest baby were munching on grass along the side of the road. We couldn't believe our eyes! We pulled over to take pictures, and those darn horses decided to stand in the middle of Highway 19 and eat who knows what off the pavement. We were so frightened that they were going to get hit as there are blind curves in both directions. My friend was waving at approaching vehicles to get them to slow down, and we stayed until the horses decided to stroll up the entrance of the park. Only then did we resume our trip back to St. Louis.

Eminence wild horses
Monday I met up with a few members of our female photography group at a local coffee shop. The gal who started our group moved to Las Vegas last fall, and she was back in town for a visit. Then later in the afternoon, Jim and I drove to Jefferson Barracks Cemetery to see all the flags that had been placed on the military graves by local Boy Scouts. It was an opportunity for us to pause in remembrance of those who died keeping America the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Cataract Surgery Update

This morning was my one week follow up appointment, and this time I actually saw the surgeon who did the procedure. The last appointment was with a doctor I had never met before. My eye pressure dropped from 21 to 16, which is great news. Anything under 20 is good. The left eye measured 13. I can easily read the 20/32 line on the eye chart, but certain letters on the line below that are not crystal clear, specifically the "C" and the "O", which look alike to me.

The bottom line is that I am still slipping on reading glasses more often than I hoped to, though there still should be some continued improvement in the vision in the right eye. Taking all of that into consideration, I opted to go with the enhanced lens in my left eye next week. It makes sense to have a matching set. Dr. Pepose will correct my astigmatism in that eye at the same time. Interestingly, the enhanced lens will be ordered to the specifications to fix the astigmatism in my eye.

eye shield
Overall, everything is looking good with my right eye. I no longer need to wear the plastic shield at night, and I can resume all activities except for swimming. Even pickleball - color me happy! I can also wear eye makeup again, though I will only do that when I'm going out since I still have to put drops in three times a day. Of course next Wednesday I begin the whole process over again, but for a week I'm footloose and fancy free.

Friday, May 18, 2018

Postmortem on the Cataract Surgery

While it might seem odd to have the word postmortem in my blog title, since the usual definition means an examination following death, people have come to use postmortem to refer to any examination or discussion that takes place after an event. As my natural lens has been removed and tossed away, I think postmortem works in this context.

My first cataract surgery took place on Wednesday. Beginning on Monday, I had three eye drops to put into my eye, three times a day, including one of each in the eye before heading out for surgery. There was to be no food or drink after I went to bed Tuesday night. We were told to arrive at the surgical center at 7:30, where I completed enough paperwork to apply to a PhD program. As I was instructed to bring nothing with me except for my ID and insurance card, I didn't even have my reading glasses with me for assistance. But I could clearly see the young woman in the waiting area scarfing down a bag of potato chips. My stomach gave a disgruntled rumble.

About 15 minutes after arrival I was taken back to a surgical waiting area where I was told to lie down on a gurney. You get to leave on your street clothes, so that's a bonus. Two other beds were already occupied with patients, which gave me some sense of my wait time. My vitals were taken and I had to give my height and weight (ugh!) for the anesthesia, I presume. Multiple eye drops were placed in the right eye in preparation for surgery.

I was nice and toasty under a warm-from-the-dryer blanket when the anesthesiologist came to talk to me. I'll admit that I did not realize ahead of time that anesthesia would be administered. When I had my LASIK done 14 years ago, I was given a "happy pill" while sitting in a recliner in a dimmed room to relax me before walking into the surgical room. When the technician talked to me at my last appointment, all she said is that I would be given "better stuff" than what I had gotten previously. I assumed (my bad) that it would be a stronger pill.

About 8:20 the nurse came to administer the anesthesia. It was in liquid form, shot under my tongue with a needle-less syringe, where I was told to hold it for 60 seconds before swallowing. As the first thing I had to drink in 11 hours, let's just say it didn't taste like Kool-Aid and leave it at that. At no time did I ever feel the effects of whatever they gave me - before, during or after surgery - so I'm not sure exactly what it was supposed to do for me. It certainly didn't relax me like the LASIK pill did.

It was 8:42 when the nurse wheeled me into the surgical room. That was not a moment too soon as the man who was waiting in the bed next to me was just starting to tell the nurse about the online video he had watched on cataract surgery. Some things I just don't want to know ahead of time. More numbing drops were placed in my eye, and then a white plastic sheeting was placed over my face. They told me that they were blowing oxygen under it so I could breathe. A hole was cut in the sheet over the right eye, and a clamp was placed on the eye so that I couldn't blink.

When the light was maneuvered overhead, the doctor told me to stare at the light. There were three glowing orbs, and he said I could look at any of the three. Then he began the surgery. I can't say that I felt any pain, only pressure. But I was braced for the pain as I have a weak (or is it strong?) tolerance for anesthesia. Often during my skin cancer removals I will have to stop the doctor as I can feel him cutting. During dental procedures I usually need an extra shot. And I felt them removing the most recent breast biopsy. Ouch! But this time there was no pain, thank goodness. I just wanted it to be over with, as it is rather scary to think about what the doctor is doing.

rocking the pirate look
The procedure took about 15 minutes, then the draping was removed, more drops put in my eye, and I got a sexy eye shield to wear. I was wheeled to a the recovery ward, where I was rewarded with orange juice and pretzels before being helped into a wheelchair for dismissal. Jim brought the car around to the front, and we were off.

For the first day I was to leave the shield on, raising it only to add eye drops. I could watch t.v. but there was to be no reading or computer time. I had minimal discomfort in the eye, only a headache which a couple of Tylenol fixed. Yesterday Jim had to drive me back to Pepose Vision for my first follow up. They said the eye was healing nicely, though my pressure is a smidge high. Fortunately it was not so high as to necessitate additional eye drops. The shield now only has to be worn at night and if I take a nap. But I have to use these eye drops for 42 days! And that is just for this eye.

For the first week, there is no lifting over 20 pounds, no strenuous exercise (no pickleball!) and no bending over. You don't realize how often you do that until you are told you can't. I'm getting really creative in how I get things that are down low. My hair looks like crap as I always bend over to fluff it each morning. I also cannot wear eye makeup, which is a big deal to me. I feel naked without my eyes done.

It will be worth it in the end though. I can already see better with the right eye than I see with the left, and my vision should continue to improve in the surgical eye. The one thing that I've noticed the most is that the surgical eye sees everything much brighter. It is so obvious since the left eye has not been done yet. Although people had told me that would be the case, I wasn't expecting it to be very drastic for me since my cataracts were still in the early stages of development. It's amazing, for sure.

On Tuesday I will drive myself to the last follow up appointment for this eye, and hopefully get the news that I can resume all my activities. Especially pickleball. At least until May 30th when I get the second eye done, and start the process all over again.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Easy Come, Easy Go

We had relatives in town for the past couple of days. While the guys headed downtown to a Cardinals game Monday night, the ladies were able to dine al fresco at a local Mexican restaurant. Tuesday's weather was perfect, and I tried to take them to the Missouri Botanical Garden. Everyone had the same idea, and we couldn't even get into the parking lot. Thinking I would show them the Old Cathedral, and the new Arch grounds next to it, I drove downtown. But I was forgetting that there was an 12:25 ballgame. Cathedral parking was $15, and there were no spots in the lot at any rate. I was finally able to maneuver our way out of the downtown gridlock, and I took them to Forest Park instead.

Boathouse at Forest Park
Though it was a long shot, I thought we might try to eat lunch at the Boathouse. It has just reopened for the season, and is under new management. I dropped them off to see how long it would be to get a table outside, and then miraculously a parking spot opened up. Taking that as a good sign, I quickly pulled into the spot. After a 30 minute wait, we had a delightful lunch by the lake.

Following lunch we spent some time at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium, which is where Jim finally caught up with us as he had a meeting he could not reschedule. From there we grabbed some steaks at a local butcher, and the evening was spent sitting outside on the deck enjoying the nice weather. Our company headed out to their next destination early Wednesday.

Today I ran to the Missouri Botanical Garden for a couple of hours, arriving just as they opened. The temperature was still moderate this morning, but the next few days are supposed to hit around 90 degrees. I figured this would be the last opportunity to see the tulips, azaleas and other spring flowers before the heat takes care of them. So much for spring...
Missouri Botanical Garden

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Shine on, St. Louis!

St. Louis Arch
The redevelopment of the Arch grounds has been going on for quite some time - years, in fact. It was supposed to be completed by the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Arch, which was to be celebrated October 28, 2015. Oops...But great progress has been made, and the area looks really good right now. Pedestrian access is much improved, with people able to enter the park without having to cross multiple lanes of traffic. The museum is not yet open, with the latest prediction stating that it will be ready for visitors "in the summer of 2018".

Jim and I went downtown Saturday morning to check things out. We began at Citygarden, a lovely small park that opened in 2009. With its water features, it is packed with families in the summer looking for a spot to cool off during the intense heat that is prevalent here.

Citygarden
statue depicting Harry Kiener
Next we walked to Kiener Plaza. Dedicated in 1962, the park was named after Harry Kiener, a local amateur boxer, wrestler and swimmer who also was part of the U.S. track team at the Olympics held in St. Louis in 1904. The plaza recently underwent extensive renovations, and reopened in May of 2017. The new design is wildly successful, and includes a children's playground. There must have been 75 people taking part in a yoga class Saturday morning.

From there we headed to the Arch, stopping to admire the wonderful gardens that serve as the front yard to the old courthouse. It was great to see so many people out and about in the city, especially considering that it is not yet summer and no Cardinals game was being played. St. Louis gets such a bad rap in the media due to the way the crime statistics are tabulated. It makes me happy to see people enjoying the beautiful amenities our city has to offer. Shine on, St. Louis!

St. Louis City