It’s funny that something that should be a major event in my life is just one of many good things that happened during the last week.

Since the time my left eye became so much better than my right eye after the lens replacement, I knew I wanted to do something with the right eye :). Who would have known things could be so much better! The same surgeon who did my last surgery and who is a true miracle worker, told me he can do Lasik on my right eye, and that was enough for me to say yes! With any other surgeon, I would be skeptical.

It took a while to find the date when the surgery could be done (I had to stop wearing a contact lens five days before, and I was traveling non-stop). I chose May 23, so that the surgery would be “after everything”. Also, I ordered temporary glasses for these several days. It was a complete waste of money, but I was glad I did, because I had five events during these five days! It was still extremely uncomfortable, but I managed 🙂

The surgery itself was very quick and uneventful. (I felt mildly stressed because I had to wait for a long time before they started, but that was it.) I asked not to administer sedatives, because I didn’t want to ask anybody to escort me home. They still gave me a local anasthesia, and everything was fine. It’s weird when you see and feel somebody messing with your eye😀, but not a big deal. I saw better immediately, although it was supposed to happen later. I still feel like my eyes do not work completely together, so it’s like I see with each eye better than with two together, but we will figure it out 🙂

And if you think about it, it’s amazing how much medical science has advanced in recent years!

Three years ago, I experienced this effect in full: for two consecutive days, I walked and talked with two friends, both shorter than I was. Something in this situation throws my spine out of balance, and my left side pains return. I didn’t have it that bad for quite a while, although I had less severe cases sometimes when I walked with my mom, and I forgot about it.

Two weeks ago, my pains returned out of nowhere, and it took me a while to figure out that the root cause was the same – for two days, I was engaged in long walks and conversations with a friend who is shorter than me (it’s not easy to be shorter than me, that’s why it does not happen often!)

By now, I know what I need to do to fix the problem, so I asked my doctor to renew my high-dose ibuprofen prescription and went to physical therapy, but I am wondering whether I will ever be able to talk to people who are shorter than me without pain 🙂

One more note about this eye surgery and how it differed from the previous ones: although the surgeon told me it would be “more serious” than the initial cataract surgery, it didn’t feel this way. Two days after the surgery, I already felt like a normal person, and when, a week later, I was allowed to go completely “back to normal,” it was surprising and exciting but totally expected. I felt like that!

Last time, I felt like my whole body was negatively affected, I felt as if I got older, and I looked older, and I do not feel like that this time!

(Not to mention that this procedure costs literally three times less than the first one, and that’s without inflation adjustment. I was able to cover it entirely from my FSA)

Since I already received a couple of concerned messages, I wanted to let my friends know that everything is great, and the reason I didn’t blog much is that life happens multiple times every day :).

I had a second post-op today, and there was something going on (not with me), because the surgeon had to dash to other rooms multiple times, and I spent more than an hour just waiting.

However, the news is positive: everything is healing very well, and I can do all my regular activities, provided nothing hits my head and I am not lifting something heavy.

The vision is still fluctuating, however, as I already said, even the worst it was during this week is tons better than it was before and better than I was hoping for.

Thursday was still weird, and although I was super happy with the optical effects, I still didn’t feel myself, both physically and mentally. I still had to make some important decisions because one of my “battles” was still ongoing (I hope that at some point in the future, I will be able to tell all about that, but not yet).

Friday morning was a turning point. Boris and I walked to the Common Cup for breakfast. I could not make myself eat normally since the surgery; I had zero appetite. That breakfast was the first time I enjoyed food, and I appreciated the Common Cup more than ever.

My vision is fluctuating, and it was expected. On Thursday, it was good; on Friday and Saturday, it was terrific; today, it is a little bit worse, but the surgeon told me it would be a rollercoaster, so I am patiently waiting. The best part is that even at the lowest, I do not need any additional correction on my left eye, and when I put a contact lens in my right, my vision is as close to perfect as it can be. I am trying not to wear the reading glasses to train my eyes.
One of the most difficult things in my current situation is that I am not allowed to do any physical activity, and I can’t bend down. That includes no strength training, even with body weight, elliptical or stationary bike, or yoga. And on top of it, I am not allowed to move fast!
It was very cold on Wednesday, and Boris didn’t even let me walk outside (the next day, the surgeon said it was fine). However, I am still motion-deprived and barely make half of my move ring on my Apple watch. No bending blocks most of my household activities, and it’s awesome that Boris is here because he can unload a dishwasher and move the clothes from the washer to the dryer. (And to be honest, that’s the best this time – no COVID restrictions and having him here). I forgot about “no bending”, and I am thankful that this is for one week only, not for three months, like after my back surgery!
I also forgot about the drops: three kinds of drops four times a day, with 5 min intervals in between 🙄

After seven days, I will continue the two non-antibiotic drops until I use the whole bottle, but just twice a day.

One of the drops stinks a lot! I do not recall any of them causing such an “ouch” after my previous surgeries.

Last time, I was struggling getting the drops in the eye – half of them ended up missing, and I was never sure whether I should repeat or it was “good enough.” The nurse said, that if I am unsure, it is beter to repeat. Boris showed me his techniques to see the drop getting out of the bottle, which increases the chances of success dramatically, so I do not worry that much about it this time.

Boris is leaving later today, so we are going to do everything which requres bending and lifting before that. And since I am oging to the office tonorrow, I woun’t need to worry about the dishwasher until me next post-op on Thursday 🙂

Since my first cataract surgery in February 2020, I knew that something wrong was done to my left eye. As a result, no lens can improve my left eye vision; it is constantly blurry, no matter contacts or glasses. In addition, it affects my double-vision negatively, and all my attempts to fix it didn’t provide any positive outcome.

Each year, when I go for my annual, an optometrist tries to send me “to a real doctor” so that I can “finally figure out what’s wrong.” Last summer, the same call was made again, but this time, an optometrist wanted to confirm my long-time suspicions about the cataract surgery ourcome.

He referred me to a specialist on Chicago North Side, and when I called her office, they said that the earliest they could see me was in December.

On December 13, I finally went to my appointment. After all measurements were taken, the doctor came in and told me that she was confident my suspicions were justified and I should never had a multifocal lens (which I was trying to get from the surgeon who did that first one). She went on with her examination and confirmed and told me that she would send me for a consultation with the best specialist in Chicago, Dr. Rubenstein. He would be able to evaluate the risks/benefits. Since I waited for an appointment with Dr. Rogers for four months, I was mentally prepared for at least the same with Dr. Rubuinstein, but she escorted me to the reception and asked the receptionist to make a call and see if “maybe something with holidays and such.” The receptionist made a call and said that Dr. Rogerst was wondering, understanding that holidays-and-such-but-may-be-something, and then she turned to me: will you be able to come on Monday? Yay!!! Having that it was Friday, and having that it was mid-December, and having that I already took a day off for that Monday.. Yay!

That’s, by the way, how my last attempt to finalize the cookie-sending without sleep deprivation failed! On December 16, I spent the morning with the pest control person, baked extra tea cakes in the early afternoon, and then went to Rush University Medical Center.

Even though I planned my trip perfectly, and all public transportation cooperated, I left home at 12-15 and returned at 6-15. Six hours! The travel in one direction took over one hour; the wait was minimal, so the rest was extensive testing. I really liked Dr. Rubenstein and all his staff. In a funny way, I felt a deep connection with him as a professional. When I was informed that although I have my test results from three days ago, “Dr. Rubunstein still wants to have them in his fingertips,” I laughed and said that it’s the same way as I always want to run a query execution plan myself, even when it is provided along with a ticket.

I spent over two hours being tested on different equipment, known and unknown, and finally, the doctor came to talk to me. He said that he had reviewed all the information, and he believed that I was a perfect candidate for a lens replacement surgery, although he usually does not recommend it lightly. I felt even more related to him when he said that he always fixed other surgeons’ mistakes and that other surgeons would send their patients to him whenever it was a complicated case. That’s exactly what happens with me! He said that this surgery would be more involved than my first one, but still, it would be an outpatient one.

Next, I went to a scheduling person. The next available date was February 19, and again, it worked perfectly for me! I still need clearance from my physician closer to the surgery date, but that’s it, and I am staying cautiously optimistic.