slo town
$200 Site Donor 2026
Y'all:
I got the first of my two eyes done this past Tuesday. All I can say is WOW! The clarity and brightness of colors has exceeded my wildest expectations.
I had my right eye done first because it was the worst one. I'll have my left eye done in a month or two. I'm having lenses put in that correct my long distance vision so I will still need reading glasses. And for those who will no doubt comment, I did not want one eye corrected for close up and the other for long distance.
Long story short, our health care is out of our local area so Sue and I got a hotel room for two nights, the hotel being in Sue's old stomping grounds in Saratoga where she grew up in her youth.
The surgery center was nearby. I was there for about 3 hours, although the actual procedure itself took just 15 minutes. When they wheeled me on the gurney to the operating room I was surprised that music was playing. What was the music? AC/DC's Highway To Hell. Surreal. I made a comment about the music and they quickly said they'd change it to something else. I was 100% fine with it, even telling them I saw Jimi Hendrix live in concert back when I was a young buck.
I was supposedly MAC sedated but felt awake the entire time, my eye lids held open, my head tightly restrained while I looked up at a bright light. I could see motion in my eye, similar to what you'd see if you were underwater on a bright sunny day with waves splashing and breaking above you. I felt zero pain and felt fully conscious the entire time. That said, I suspect I was more sedated than I realized.
After the procedure I was discharged in just 30 minutes. Sue drove me back to the hotel and we chilled for a couple of hours before going out to dinner.
This is where the story gets amusing. We're in downtown Saratoga, as I said Sue's old stomping grounds. You cannot eat anything 8 hours prior to the surgery so I hadn't eaten anything for about 12 hours. We had a variety of fine restaurants to choose from, finally choosing Dos Burros. Being someone with a bit of vanity, even at age 73, no way was I going to go out to dinner with an eye patch/shield, looking like some old guy who just had cataract surgery.
Instead, I stealthily dressed myself for dinner, sans patch. We ate in the corner of a darkened bar at the restaurant. When the bartender asked about drinks I quietly said “I’m restricted to Coke tonight “ (my doctor said no alcohol that night). He replied “Do you want that in a baggie?” Perfect! I looked super suspicious, if not dangerous and menacing; like the Unibomber, DB Cooper, Walter White; whomever. I had Sue order my dinner, me stoically sitting in silence beside her, acting the part.
I got several double takes from people who noticed me lurking in the corner, usually with my head down hiding my face with the brim of my hat, looking up only occasionally. Some of the people I saw look at me actually looked a bit cautious, if not fearful. When we finally left a young woman walked past all 6'5" 230 pounds of me, her jaw actually dropped, a jolt of fear visible with her reaction. I should have been a movie actor.
On a more serious note, if you are delaying getting cataract surgery, delay no longer. The procedure is quick and painless and the results truly remarkable.
Scott
I got the first of my two eyes done this past Tuesday. All I can say is WOW! The clarity and brightness of colors has exceeded my wildest expectations.
I had my right eye done first because it was the worst one. I'll have my left eye done in a month or two. I'm having lenses put in that correct my long distance vision so I will still need reading glasses. And for those who will no doubt comment, I did not want one eye corrected for close up and the other for long distance.
Long story short, our health care is out of our local area so Sue and I got a hotel room for two nights, the hotel being in Sue's old stomping grounds in Saratoga where she grew up in her youth.
The surgery center was nearby. I was there for about 3 hours, although the actual procedure itself took just 15 minutes. When they wheeled me on the gurney to the operating room I was surprised that music was playing. What was the music? AC/DC's Highway To Hell. Surreal. I made a comment about the music and they quickly said they'd change it to something else. I was 100% fine with it, even telling them I saw Jimi Hendrix live in concert back when I was a young buck.
I was supposedly MAC sedated but felt awake the entire time, my eye lids held open, my head tightly restrained while I looked up at a bright light. I could see motion in my eye, similar to what you'd see if you were underwater on a bright sunny day with waves splashing and breaking above you. I felt zero pain and felt fully conscious the entire time. That said, I suspect I was more sedated than I realized.
After the procedure I was discharged in just 30 minutes. Sue drove me back to the hotel and we chilled for a couple of hours before going out to dinner.
This is where the story gets amusing. We're in downtown Saratoga, as I said Sue's old stomping grounds. You cannot eat anything 8 hours prior to the surgery so I hadn't eaten anything for about 12 hours. We had a variety of fine restaurants to choose from, finally choosing Dos Burros. Being someone with a bit of vanity, even at age 73, no way was I going to go out to dinner with an eye patch/shield, looking like some old guy who just had cataract surgery.
Instead, I stealthily dressed myself for dinner, sans patch. We ate in the corner of a darkened bar at the restaurant. When the bartender asked about drinks I quietly said “I’m restricted to Coke tonight “ (my doctor said no alcohol that night). He replied “Do you want that in a baggie?” Perfect! I looked super suspicious, if not dangerous and menacing; like the Unibomber, DB Cooper, Walter White; whomever. I had Sue order my dinner, me stoically sitting in silence beside her, acting the part.
I got several double takes from people who noticed me lurking in the corner, usually with my head down hiding my face with the brim of my hat, looking up only occasionally. Some of the people I saw look at me actually looked a bit cautious, if not fearful. When we finally left a young woman walked past all 6'5" 230 pounds of me, her jaw actually dropped, a jolt of fear visible with her reaction. I should have been a movie actor.
On a more serious note, if you are delaying getting cataract surgery, delay no longer. The procedure is quick and painless and the results truly remarkable.
Scott
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