All sewing, quilting, gardening and reading has pretty much come to a halt. June 5 I had the cataract in my left eye removed, which meant no bending or lifting greater than 10 lbs for a week. It has healed well, and I was to have the right cataract removed July 24. However, I have something called "mapdot fingerprint", which is a swirl of bumpiness on my corneas. The right one was more severe, enough that they couldn't get the measurements for the intraocular lens, so my doctor decided to do a corneal scraping 5 weeks ago. The term still makes me shudder.
I ended up with a nasty infection, and have been going to the eye clinic at UVA hospital 2-3 days/week for the last few weeks. My right eye stays taped shut except for eye drops, and finally, the surface of my eye has healed. I still have a lot of corneal swelling, though, so the vision in that eye is like looking through a glass block. I still can't tolerate bright light, but that has improved a little. I don't wear sunglasses indoors any more, but all the drapes are drawn and we keep the lights to a minimum. Being able to type this is a big step forward. I can drive at night now, but still can't drive in the daylight.
It has been so frustrating, and boring--once the pain began subsiding. The only way to really rest that eye has been to rest the other one, since your eyes function in synchronated movements. Watching TV was difficult, so when I could find a much-watched movie, I could sit and listen to it, without having to see what was going on. Thank goodness for friends and family! Jack has driven me to all our appointments (me white-knuckling it the whole way, but that's another story) and to the grocery store when needed. Since my left eye is now better, the lens in my glasses was no longer the correct prescription, so the office made me a cheap bifocal lens to help, and I use a magnifying glass when I need to. A sweet friend of mind brought me some books on tape, and my daughter got me set up with Audible, so time spent lying down in a dark room is much more appealing now. The docs say I shouldn't get the other cataract done for a couple of months, so guess we're looking at the end of September.
In the meantime, the flower beds are all overgrown with weeds, squash bugs got to my squash, and the cherry tomatoes haven't been very prolific, because they don't get watered enough. The herbs are struggling, and Dawn's quilt is still unfinished, as are some hand projects I had been working on. My fingers are itching to sew, but I just don't see well enough yet. My gardening tan has faded. BUT--I finally finished Dr. Sleep, and have "read" 4 other books as well, so all is not lost!
Snapped this picture right before the corneal scraping. I had planted several coneflower plants last summer, and they were just beginning to bloom the end of June. It's so gratifying to see the butterflies feasting on these and the butterfly bushes the previous owner planted. My goal for next summer is to increase the types of butterfly- and pollinator-friendly flowers in my flowerbeds. Here's hoping life doesn't get in the way, again!
