Cataract Surgery One Week Post Op

It’s been one week since I had cataract and glaucoma surgery. The hardest part was wearing an old pair of glasses with one lens out with my new eye. So I could neither read nor see out of both eyes at the same time. I couldn’t bend over, needed to wear an eye patch at night, couldn’t sleep on my left side, sleep only at a thirty degree angle, and not get any water in my eye - which meant no hair washing. And then there are the drops three times a day. I remember in the old days when I started my first nursing job that patients were admitted for three days and their heads were sandbagged! They also did not have the advantage of laser precision technology and bionic lenses. When I went for a routine dental cleaning this week I had to remind them to keep the chair at a thirty degree angle. When I go back for a crown next week I can lay flat. I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience and today was my one week post op visit. Everything is healing well. They needed to remeasure the right eye in preparation for the next surgery in two weeks. Now I can bend over, wash my hair, resume usual exercise, sleep flat and on my left side - but still need to take drops - and eventually start drops in the other eye. My doctor also exudes confidence and has the right personality for this job. He can multitask - type and talk at the same time - and is so very pleasant. Now I know what I’m getting in to for the second surgery - half of the anxiety is not knowing what to expect. It will be so nice to see distance without glasses. That hasn’t happened since I was in high school. But I will need readers, which is inevitable. It’s the kind of surgery that makes you feel better when it’s over. It also reminds you how dependent we are on our eyes for everything. How lucky we are to have these options.