Classic Rant #240 (April 23, 2010): Eye Hope Everything Goes Fine

Today, my father goes in for cataract surgery. I have taken off the day from work to transport him to and from the hospital where he is slated to have the surgery this morning.

Normally, cataract surgery is a pretty painless, straightforward procedure. It takes about 20 minutes, and the recuperation time is a few days.

Those having the surgery usually claim that they can see better than they ever could, and often don't need their glasses anymore.

Well, with my father, there is a problem. Or should I say, was a problem ... a problem that I hope does not happen again.

Usually this surgery is pretty one-two-three, as I said, but when my father had his first eye done, there was a problem ...

The doctor could not get his cataracts out!

A 20-minute procedure became an hour. I remember my mother and I sitting in the waiting room and wondering what was going on. We said, "Oh, maybe the anesthetic hadn't taken hold," or "Maybe the doctor wasn't ready," or something to that effect.

No, we later learned that the cataracts could not be removed, or at least not be removed by this particular doctor.

Finally, after more than an hour of waiting, we were called into the doctor's office, and she told us that she could not get the cataracts out. She tried and tried and tried, but they would not come out.

We asked her, "What do you mean you couldn't get them out?" and she said she tried, but was unsuccessful. She said he was a one in a million person, because normally, there isn't such a problem.

Well, we took my father home, with a patch on his eye and all black and blue, and he had to wait a day or two or three to have the procedure done again.

This time, it worked, the cataracts were out, and he--and we--survived the ordeal.

And by the way, the original doctor, who couldn't get the cataracts out, retired right after this. Yes, this 30-something doctor, supposedly in the prime of her career, gave it all up. She simply didn't have what it took to continue in her field, and I think this whole episode freaked her out.

Now my father goes back again for the other eye, and I have to tell you, I am a bit nervous. What happens if this crazy thing happens again?

It had better not happen, for the sake of my father and my mom. I don't think they could take another episode like the previous one again.

I know that I can't.