Eye Exam IV

The ophthalmologist removed the eye patch from my grandmother’s left eye. First, the doctor cleaned the area and observed the eye. Second, he examined the eye through a complex machine. Everything looked right, he said. Then, the doctor asked us to move to the eye exam room.

The doctor’s assistant sat my grandmother down on a comfortable chair. The moment of truth finally came. The assistant projected some big letters on the wall. Right away, my grandmother said, “D and E.” The assistant projected smaller letters little by little. Surprisingly, my grandmother nailed almost all the letters even though her right eye needs surgery too. Her new eyesight in the left eye is 20/40, not bad for an 87-year-old lady.

Laughing and excited, my grandmother left the doctor’s office. She could distinguish the faces of the other patients. When we arrived at our house, she started to look around. Everything seemed new for her: the color of the house, the neighbor’s house, the landscape, the cars, and so on. Three days after the surgery, she asked me to buy a newspaper. She hadn’t read a newspaper in a long time.

In August, my grandmother has a follow-up appointment. The doctor will decide the date of the right eye surgery. Right now, we have reached the halfway mark of this interminable odyssey.

To be continued.