THE EYES HAVE IT: HOW TO TURN FEAR INTO SLEEP

Throughout this week I have endured extremely stressful times.  The factors involved in creating this stress don't amount to much alone, but the whole is much more than its parts.

• Cataract surgery, early Monday, when everything should have gone as before.
• Seeing through a "red plastic screen" in afternoon.
• Add many floating drops of "oil" to the gauzy screen on Tuesday morning.
• Poking, prodding, bright lights for examination.
• Doctor adds additional drop twice a day, burning assures me of correct placement.
• Wednesday morning, sight has gotten worse, second doctor consulted.
• Concerned mutterings accompany the poking, prodding, extremely bright lights.
• Immediately sent to downtown Houston for specialist appointment, without eating, drinking.
• Strange directions, congested traffic and enormous, costly parking garage.
• Dodging traffic, with the aid of an assisting arm and the aid of only one eye.
• Dilation, waiting, bright lights, examination, poking, prodding and no answers.
• By late afternoon, quick bite and the puzzle of finding way home.
• More drops, more waiting, more questions, more fear, not much sleep.
• Thursday, nothing to eat or drink, before returning to downtown Houston.
• Patience is wearing thin, with traveling, traffic and no answers, just more questions.
• New doctor, new lights, new drops, new tests, new examinations, new questions.
• After consultation, treatment is determined.
• Explanation is given and fear is at a peak.
• Needles are to be inserted in the eye socket, below the eye.
• During this part of procedure, I came to the edge of passing out from the pain.
• Since I didn't want to start over, I convinced myself that I could and would stay alert.
• Withdrawing fluid and inserting antibiotics into the eye was weird, but painless.
• Multiple drops applied and patched for the journey home.
• Two hours later, midway home, patch removed for drops and the world was duplicated.
• Double vision, double the anxiety and double the pain.
• Pain medicine made the rest of the ride home tolerable.
• Early Friday morning, return to doctor in different part of Houston.
• Tension by this time was equal to the frustration with incomplete sight.
• Drops, bright lights, examination, waiting, more examination, more poke, prodding.
• A slight increase in vision was the ultimate reward for this painful, frustrating week.
• Two more prescriptions (total of seven types of drops) and we wait.
• Monday morning, local doctor and then Friday we return to Houston.

How did I pass this time without too many drugs, you might wonder.  Well, I spent many hours going over how many sayings involve the most precious organ of my body.  I will give you a few that I thought of, just to prime your pump of memories of eye sayings.

1. Eye of the Tiger.
2. Lying Eyes.
3. Eye of the needle.
4. Beats a poke in the Eye with a sharp stick.
5. Eye of the beholder.
6. Eye on the sparrow.
7. Shut-Eye.
8. In the blink of an Eye.
9. Bedroom Eyes.
10. Betty Davis Eyes.
11. Got my Eye on you.
12. Can't believe my Eyes.
13. Evil Eye.
14. Eyelets.
15. Eye piece (microscope).
16. Eye glasses.
17. Eye drops.
18. Eye lashes.

And the list would continue until the waves of sleep pulled me into the land of not caring about diminished vision.  Amazing thing, this old mind is, sometimes.  I know that in the whole world of hurt, my week is nothing, truly, I do understand that.  However, it's been a bad week for me and mine and I hope to SEE an improvement on all fronts soon.



So in closing, let me leave you with this somewhat familiar quote.  I only knew the first two sentences, but the last two made me laugh in a week without many smiles.




“Cross you heart, hope to die. Stick a needle in your eye. Jam a dagger in your thigh. Eat a horse manure pie!”