Richard Hyatt: The gift of sight

Twenty minutes of surgery and I’m 20/20, able to see all obstacles in my way.

Two operations, two IVs and two Valium took care of two pesky cataracts and relegated my old pair of bifocals to the bottom of my sock drawer.

I was not so brave when I wrote about the pending surgeries a few weeks ago.

I carried that anxiety with me to the Surgery Center where the first out-patient procedure was performed along with a typed list of my daily meds.

You're aware of what is happening through it all but the drugs they offer you make everything all right, even the silly gown and paper cap they want you to wear.

It took Dr. Casey Geringer 10 minutes to do her magic.

She removed the old lens and installed a manufactured one.

She sent me home with orders not to lift anything heavier than a jug of milk, a prescription for expensive eye drops and an ugly eye patch that made me want to stay out of public places.

We went to Panera Bread for a bowl of broccoli soup after I was on my feet, but I remember little about our lunch. Once again, I was reminded what a cheap drunk I am because one Valium and an IV cocktail put me on my backside until the next morning.

In her office the next day, Dr. Geringer checked my left eye and announced it 20/20. The right eye was far from perfect and it threw my world out of balance. Instead of waiting two weeks, she scheduled me to have my right eye done the following week.

With both eyes functioning, I went to church on Sunday morning. To me, there was added lighting in the choir loft and it seemed the robes they wore were new and colorful. I was amazed at the miracle.

Not everyone receives the gift of a 20/20 exam, but the numbers are not as important as the gift of sight.

The haze is gone. The fog is lifted. I need cheap reading glasses to read the box scores but that is it.

I can even see the ugly bags under my eyes that my glasses used to hide.

I can see clearly now, and I am grateful.

-- Richard Hyatt is an independent correspondent. Reach him at hyatt31906@knology.net.

This story was originally published October 25, 2014 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Richard Hyatt: The gift of sight."