Last Monday I had nuclear cataract surgery done on my left eye. Nuclear cataract is where the cloudy lens is replaced. I will have the right eye’s lens replaced a week from tomorrow. To an artist, sight is imperative! To you who have never undergone such surgery, what can I relate the difference I have found between the lenses so far?
Perhaps the best way is to equate the lens of my eyes with my father’s old architect tools. Among them was a plastic protractor, similar to the clear plastic ones we students used at school. But throughout these years, his plastic protractor has become yellowed to the hue of yellow ochre and also extremely brittle. This yellowed brittle lens is my old lens.
My new left lens is a miracle to the nth degree! The sight that the new lens has returned to me has filled my heart with gratitude to God. No longer in this eye is my vision dark yellow. I am amazed at the vibrancy of natural light and the glorious array of colors I had been missing. I can see through my left eye without glasses for the first time since fourth grade! My vision is so clear! I still don’t have depth perception, since my eyes not yet focusing together. This will return after the surgery on the right eye. I will need reading glasses, who cares?
I will never take this new gift of sight for granted. Eager to get back to my studio and paint up a storm, I envision greater depth in my paintings and more vibrant colors with an increasing wonderment at how beautiful sight is. New vision is in my future. It begins now.