Save your sight

By 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 9, 2024, I will be undergoing what people call cataract surgery. Nowadays they call it an hour-long “simple outpatient procedure.” The objective is to conservatively improve clarity of my vision by about 15 to 20 percent or hopefully more by removing the cataract that has blurred the view.

I did have the option to delay the procedure like other patients do, but if I’m going to enjoy my latter days of reading books, enjoying driving through the countryside, then having the cataract removed was a no-brainer. Besides which, it was rather annoying to see clearly in one eye and partially blurred in the other.

I did discover that doctors at the American Eye Institute don’t just jump at the chance to cut and charge. You will undergo a consult, followed by a clinical evaluation using several machines and tests that lasts about 20 to 30 minutes, a briefing on the preparation, costs and scheduling as well as processing for PhilHealth members.

Once all that is settled, you come back four days before surgery to pick up eye drops to be used 3x a day for three days, and another solution to be used several hours before the surgery. The day after surgery you are required to undergo post operative check and if it’s all OK, you go home and come back after a month for a check-up.

Given that the procedure is done in a private facility, the charges are understandably pricey, but their promos combined with PhilHealth practically cuts things in half. Given the annoying visual imbalance and the promise of clarity or improved vision, it is worth the money because you are paying for professional medical service.

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Every six months or so, I remind readers to go to an ophthalmologist and optometrist to have their eyes and vision checked, especially if you are getting on in age or if you have a child or grandchild who seems to squint their eyes a lot and complain about being brought outdoors, etc.

When our daughter Hannah was just a toddler, we took her out of the house to have photos taken on an antique car that was about to go to a museum. We initially thought that she was just unhappy to be taken away from her bedroom. But when she started covering