“LOST
MUSKET DIARY” Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Cloudy
Followed by Sunshine 80F/ 27C in Rancho Lost Musket
“Here’s lookin’ at you, kid!” Bogie’s
line from Casablanca popped into my
head during the visit to my ophthalmologist yesterday. I thought about it again
this morning as I looked out from my balcony at “Old Saddleback” as the sun
rose. “Lookin’ good, Mike,” Dr. Yuhan had said to me after peering deeply into
my hazel eyes through his optical contraption. “20/20! You’re definitely good
to go! And so went the expert’s assessment of my newly completed double
cataract surgery. Dr. Kevin Yuhan, M.D. and his magic laser machine with rhythm
accompaniment by the Kaiser Optical Surgery Team.
And, THAT,
gentle reader is what I am grateful for this morning. I may not have the
greatest vision, but, my eyesight is now back to normal, and, I no longer need
glasses, except for reading the fine print on my lease and credit card
contracts. I normally don’t like to talk about my medical stuff. Older people
are frequently guilty of boring anyone who will listen about their latest
operation. (“I coulda died, already!”) Or their gastric distress. (“The doctor
says I have a ‘spastic colon,’ maybe a irritable bowel,’ or something!”) So, I
don’t normally talk about my own disintegrating body very much. I prefer to let
it speak for itself.
Last Fall,
my doctor was telling me that if my eyesight continued to deteriorate I would
not see well enough to get my driver’s license renewed, and he prescribed
glasses for me which we both hoped would enable me to pass my driver’s exam.
This prospect, frankly, scared the hell out of me. And, while I began planning
a contingency, I also met with a new ophthalmologist after I moved back to
Southern California. After dilating my eyes and conducting a careful examination,
he said to me. “If you continue this way, you won’t be able to see anything,
Mike.” I was stunned. Then he went on, “but if you go for the surgery, I can go
in there and fix it in about 20 minutes on each eye.” I didn't even hesitate. “Oh,
hell yeah,” I replied and he put me on the surgery schedule. Two operations,
one on each eye, with the left eye first and the right eye a month later. “We
don’t do both eyes at the same time,” he explained. “In case…..” He didn’t have
to finish the sentence. The morning of the first operation, after I was all
prepped and my head was immobilized on the operating table, he came in garbed
in cap, mask and surgical gown to check on me before he got started. After
reassuring me that everything looked good to him, going in, he asked if I had
any last minute questions. “Only one,” I joked. “Are you in a good mood? I’ve
been told that surgeons are at their best if they’re in a good mood when they
operate.” He didn’t miss a beat. “Well even after a huge fight with my wife
because I got drunk last night, I’m good to go!” I could tell he was smiling
under that mask. “OK, let’s fix this thing for you. Talk to you in about half
an hour.” And away we went. Today, I can see clearly again and I’m grateful to
Dr. Yuhan for changing careers from aerospace engineering to ophthalmology.
Caio, MikeBo
No comments:
Post a Comment