I can see...for the First time since........

Got home a couple of hours ago and all is well.....in reality, a lot better than "well".


(c)Horstkellyphotographer

Can't say enough about the hospital staff, and my Doctor...very professional, friendly and attentive...pre-op started at 0800 on the 14th...I had pre-registered, so by 0815 I was already in my "how in the hell do you tie this thing", fashionable hospital gown....then it was off to the races...."sir you have such nice veins",...ever notice it takes longer to hook you up to the  EKG machine then the actual EKG test itself....draw more blood, wire you up to the monitor....which they  always position so you can't see(self diagnose) your rapid heart beat, high blood pressure or low oxygen saturation percentage...then there is the million questions about what to do and who to contact about your remains IF you don't make it.....I'm thinking, this is only a simple 15 minute cataract procedure...have they no confidence in the surgical staff...should I be rethinking getting this done....they assure me its only a formality...that all will end well...as they leave I see the back of their heads shaking from side to side....

No sooner did they exit....and the Margarita Lady...(it was a female Doc).,  comes in.....the one person who will make it all better...even when it goes to hell in a hand basket...yup, its the anesthesiologist....wants to know how bad of shape I really am in.....By

(c)horstkellyphotographer

now, I'm ready to get a "drool cloth" and sit in the corner until the egg timer runs out of sand..... next a grumpy
 old person enters and asks me which eye it is.....I thought I would inject a little humor and said "the middle one".....apparently my brand of levity  is not appreciated, at least that early in the morning...I blamed it on the juice the Margarita Lady had just given me....all was forgiven....

(c)Horstkellyphotographer

The Star of the Event enters...all others take several steps backward....first things first....she places a round sticky over my left eye, apparently operating on the wrong organ appears problematic here....The Doc. goes over the procedure in great detail, assures all will end well...that I will not feel anything though I will be wide awake.....I will see only colored lights and that I can ask her questions while she is operating on my eye......realizing the Margarita Lady has given me enough juice that I can't count to "one" much less form a coherent sentence.....I am impressed...I can't walk and chew gum at the same time and she is able to slice and dice on my eye while engaging in a deep thought provoking conversation with me...Mmmmmm

(c)Horstkellyphotographer

At 0855 I am wheeled into the "arena"....the juice is working, the lights are flashing and I hear the theme song of"Mash" playing in the background.....I hope to hell she is a descendent of "Hawkeye" and not " Frank Burns"....I can't  help myself and I start a conversation with the Doctor.....before I know it I'm being wheeled into recovery...The Juice Doc comes in, the Surgeon comes in...we go over things not to do for the next couple weeks....and the administration of the various drops I need to take for the next 30 days.....by 1020 we are back at the Drury Inn...and I'm watching TV and for the first time since I don't know when, without my glasses...

All joking aside.....The entire operating team was first class, I couldn't have gotten a better group of folks, even if I had hand picked them!!!



(c)horstkellyPhotographer

Next day I went back to the Doctor....all checked out fine, see her again next week and then , just maybe in a month I can Hitch up the old mare to the wagon and take a little trip. Until then I will be content in  living vicariously through your Adventures and photo's.....  Thank you all for your well wishes and positive comments.....Until next time...Happy Trails...Horst sends

PS...and I didn't get a "patch"....what I received looks like half of a pair motorcycle goggles....not something you want to strut around in public with...good news, I only have to wear it when I go to bed.....woe is me!