I took the kids and myself to the eye doctor last week and it was a sad, sad day. In junior high I wore glasses for reading because I was far-sighted. By high school, my eyes had shifted and I was now near-sighted. Later it got to the point I was restricted to wearing my contacts when driving. Then I had children and that was the first sign that my body was falling apart - my eyes dried up. So much so that I could no longer wear contacts. Oh I could wear them, for maybe 3-4 hrs, if I added drops every 10-15 min, and if I didn't mind the fact that they were so red I looked like I had been on a week long drinking binge. So I said good-bye to contacts and hello to glasses.
I've worn glasses long enough now that I don't remember what it was
like to not wear them. Over time, my prescription has changed and I've updated my frames. At this last appointment, I was told that yes, once again my prescription has changed and I need new lenses. But, this time was different. This time he said the dreaded "B" word: Bi-focals. GASP! I shot him a look that said "You're kidding right?" But I learned that optomotrists don't kid when it comes to glasses. I wanted to cry, but the goop he put in my eyes to test for Glaucoma wouldn't let me.Then, I had an epiphany! LASER EYE SURGERY! My saving grace! YES! I'd just go get my eyes "fixed" and voila! I'd be cured. Dr. A just shook his head and said "That's not going to help." It has to help. It just HAS to! He explained that what is happening to me and my eyes is fairly common in someone my age. OUCH! My age??? Ok doc, go ahead and say it: you think I'm old! I wanted to shout "Look who's talking Mr. Gray hair and beard".
What has happened is that basically I now have 2 prescriptions in each eye. I am far-sighted when looking up close, and near-sighted when looking at something from a distance. Laser surgery would correct my eyes regarding the near-sightedness, but I would still always need glasses for reading. The only hope: bi-focals. I looked up at him, hoping he'd come up with another answer. I pleaded "Please, there has to be another way. Bi-focals are for Grandmothers. I can't be old enough for that yet." He smiled and said he was sorry, nothing he could do.
So, I headed out to select my new frames. I chose frameless. If I was stuck with glasses, I wanted them as invisible as possible. The only good news that day is
that bi-focals are now progressive so they no longer have the tell tale line across the lens. But, being progressive means they slowly switch in and around the middle of the lens between the prescriptions. To me that means until I learn how to use them correctly, I'm going to be bobbing my head up and down like one of those dogs you used to always see in the back of car windows. The lady helping me also asked if I had any issues with motion sickness. I said that I get car sick very easy and she said "Oh, uh, then I would suggest you take some non-drowsy motion sickness medicine for a few days then."Bobbing my head and throwing up. Oh this is going to be lots of fun, I can tell!
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