From: Julie Elves in Nottingham, UK
Date: 02 Apr 2004
Time: 09:43:31
Remote Name: 208.50.113.34
This is an email I sent to someone last year (2003). It will give you a good idea of how well the operation went...
The eye op went extremely well. I'm still amazed at how much detail I have been missing most of my life. Now I can see things like planes flying overhead, clouds, spiders on walls, cobwebs, the difference between white and magnolia are a god-send. Even though they may seem trivial and insignificant to a person with good or correctable vision, to see these is a very exciting experience for me. Since the surgery, the most significant improvement for me has been my hand and eye co-ordination. My sister used to call me "Butterfingers", as in, I could never catch a ball very well. Well, now I've got lightning reflexes when it comes to catching a ball!
I realised my vision was deteriorating 3 years ago and really should have had it done then, but due to the UK's National Health Service deteriorating I wasn't able to. Since then I have had to stop playing squash and badminton (sports I enjoyed) as I could no longer see the target (ball/shuttlecock)! And then just a month before the surgery I couldn't tell the difference between a car, truck or bus at night! I knew exactly how a startled deer dazzled by headlights felt.
About 2 months after the op, I had eye lid surgery as my lower eyelashes were touching my cornea and causing irritation. It was quite an ordeal as it was only under local anaesthetic (I could see everything - even him dropping the stitches) and I needed 2 shots to numb the pain. Anyway, the result is amazing! My R-eye used to look less open than my L due to a lazy muscle between my upper lid and eyebrow, but now they look the same size.
I now have to wear glasses (-2 power) for PC work as the artificial lens gave me better long-sightednessm, my near-sightness is still as extraordinarily good as it was before the op. I'm told that I now have 6/9 or 20/25 vision, which my consultant is confident will improve enough to nearly 20/20. I've now been to see him again (a year after the cataract removal operation) and he says that most of his patients are elderly, so their eyesight will remain static, however, as I am still young, my eyes are still adjusting to the new lens. He says that at the moment I have border-line vision to pass the eyesight requirements for driving. This is a lifelong dream of mine as I am independent in all other areas of my life, except transportation.
There is one thing I want to make very clear to you: My consultant has recently told me that since I had cataracts since birth the recepticles in my left retina have not developed and will not develop now in my older age, so I cannot expect to have perfect 20/20 vision. This is quite disappointing and frustrating as I wasn't told this at the initial consultation, but it's something I have to accept and live with. Still, having said that, if I wear my partner's strong glasses or put my fingers to my eyeball and apply a little pressure, my vision dramatically improves. I am still not convinced that my consultant understands this and realises how frustrated I am that he can't fix this problem by prescribing me with stronger glasses.
A lady from Australia contacted me and told me about her experience. With both cataracts removed she still only has 54% total vision (I'm guessing she was almost blind before), so while I'm moaning about the 90% I have (still only in 1 eye - my left eye had it worse and so now is almost redundant regardless of the lens being clear), this poor lady's over the moon with her 54%. -------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to a recent (2004) enquirer and explains how things have changed since last year (2003) :
It seems like a lifetime ago since my cataracts were removed! My life has changed dramatically since the operation. An operation is required to remove the original, clouded lens, which is organic, and replace it with an artificial, plastic (?) lens. What my surgeon failed to tell me was that my eyesight would take 1-2 years to adjust and settle down to a steady prescription, not to mention that the focal length of the new lens is fixed, which means I will need 2 sets of glasses (for long distance and PC work). I have spent a fortune on prescriptions (I've needed 5 during 2003!), but thankfully, I only have one eye/lens to worry about - the other eye is redundant and lazy due to the cataracts being severe in that eye and the brain not developing its sight.
Without this operation, I would not have been able to fulfill my lifelong dream, which has taken me 15 years, several operations and unimaginable frustration.......I AM NOW AN OFFICIAL MEMBER OF THE MAD WORLD OF MOTORING! I have a lot of people to thank for that achievement! Not least, my parents who helped pay for the operations privately and my expensive (!) optometrist who believed I could see well enough to meet the UK Driving authority requirement of 6/10 - you must be able to read a car numberplate from 20.5 metres or 5 car lengths away. I was never able to do that. In fact, depending on the conditions I still get C's mixed up with O's and 9's mixed up with B's and those mixed up with P's, because I still suffer from slight blurredness at longer distances. Thankfully on the day of the test, the car's number plate was only 3 car lengths away..........somebody was smiling down on me that day I can tell you! Don't worry though, my optometrist was willing to testify in court that my eyesight is adequate for driving (in fact, it's better than most on the roads today believe it or not! - 1 in 3 don't have the right eyesight! That's pretty worrying!). My eyesight is sort of floating between 6/9 and 6/6 (20/20) vision and seems to have settle down now - thank god! I really don't expect to reach 20/20 vision, but it would be a lovely surprise and great achievement if I did! My fiance has recently gotten some contact lenses and is busy bragging that he can read a number plate from 7 or 8 car lengths away! GRRR! Be thankful for small mercies I say! :-)
I hope this helps anybody who has any fears about their operation or condition.
If you would to contact me, I would be more than happy to answer any questions you have about my experience. My email address again is : [email protected]
Thanks!
kind regards,
JULIE ELVES