On the ride home, I had my nose pressed against the window in amazement. I could not believe that there were individual limbs and leaves on the trees. To me, trees were blobs like those painted by small children and many adults – you know – the kind that are green swirls and circles with a brown trunk and an occasional red apple. Sure, I had seen leaves on trees, at least when they were close up and right in front of my eyes, but how was I to know other trees really looked like that, too? When I got out of the car, I walked around the yard taking in everything I could. The brick walkway was not just one continuous slab, rather it was made of individual bricks. Wow!
I wasn’t sure what I looked like to those looking at me, but I was positive what the world looked like through my first pair of glasses. I don’t remember ever being told, “Go put your glasses on.” When I got a glimpse of how things looked through corrective lenses, I didn’t hesitate to wear them.
For several years, I wore glasses. Yes, people made fun of me and called me names like “four eyes.” One girl called me that and I punched her in the nose. Now they are fashionable. Then, there was only one style – cat eyes, clunky and not so attractive.
In my teenage years, I couldn’t wait to get contact lenses. I remember getting my first pair. I might even still have my first pair. Those kinds of lenses last a long time. The next pair was what was called “gas permeable (gas perm) contacts.” They were much more comfortable than the hard lenses. When soft lenses became available, I asked the eye doctor for a pair. He said, “Once you’ve worn gas perms, you won’t be satisfied with soft lenses. You have much clearer vision with gas perms.” He was right. I tossed the soft lenses and stayed with gas perms.
Old contacts
Then came the age of Lasix. I knew several people who had Lasix surgery to correct their vision. Did I have the nerve to try that? One day I decided I did. I went for an evaluation and found that I was not a candidate for that type of surgery, however, I had another option, Photorefractive keratectomy (aka PRK). The recovery time is longer, but PRK is considered safer and more effective in the long term. I signed up. The surgery was a success. Of course, I must have cheap readers for close up, but that’s okay.
In the course of life, sometimes things are not as they appear to be. We often assume too much according to our vision rather than the way it truly is. Try looking through someone else’s lenses. You might find that you’ve been missing something. I’d hate to think we’ve come this far and still can’t see the leaves for the trees —