Today I’ll give you the 4-1-1 on my latest trip, this afternoon, to the optometrist. In my post on Wednesday, I told you about my first, second, and third experience with contact lenses. Owning and wearing contacts has been a long-held dream, and it recently came true – but not without a few bumps along the road – and there are probably a couple more to come.
So this afternoon I went into the office for my FOURTH replacement lens. When I walked in, I decided to go ahead and ask to try the monovision lenses (that are available tinted). One eye has a lens for distance, and one eye for near vision. He agreed to let me try, even though he feels that the results are generally not as good as with the bifocal lenses. So, he gave me a whole new pair. I was excited to hurry home and get lenses on and glasses off, but I knew I should wait, and did, so that I could wash my hands well before putting them in.
Ooh. . .my excitement is contagious, no?
I waited. Excitedly, I opened the pack with my right lens. Put it in, and after a couple of minutes realized that the blurriness was not any better. Disappointment was creeping in, but I decided to put the left lens in, to I could see if having both in would help. I got near the mirror on my dressing table, and just as I held the lens up to apply it, it dropped off my finger. I immediately froze my position. Surely, it could not have gone far. I mean they are so light, it’s not like they will bounce. So without moving my feet, and lightly tapping at my shirt and pants, I tried to feel if it had dropped onto me. Couldn’t feel or see it. (Of course the lens I had on was the one for distance, and therefore useless in this case.) I leaned over to tap my hands around on the table, and then on the floor – even inside the open drawer near me on the table. NOWHERE! I couldn’t believe it! Since my right eye was so blurry, I decided to check and see if it was on inside out, which I found out after removing and reversing it, it was. Blurriness gone. All this without having moved the slightest millimeter, in fear of crushing the disappeared lens.
I finally swung my legs and feet around and away to another place on the floor behind me – where the lens could not possibly have fallen. I then backed up and dropped to the floor on my hands and knees. Make that one hand and one knee. Right wrist is fused, so hand can’t be flat on floor, and left knee – the replaced one that is starting to give me some problems again – could not take full pressure. Anyway, as best I could I reached all around and patted the floor in search of that tiny little thing. Found all sorts of stuff there – I haven’t vacuumed in quite a while – remember, I’m waiting for Sears to come out with a riding model. It was then I decided to swallow my pride, and call Hubs to come help me find the recalcitrant lens. He responded in precisely the way I thought he would.: “Good grief! You are kidding! Paula, just give up and get glasses! Is it really worth all this trouble?” After telling him that the improvement in my vision made it completely worthwhile in my own estimation, I said that I was not yet ready to throw in the towel. So I asked him to find a flashlight and see if we could get the thing to wink back at us from wherever it had flown.
After about ten minutes of searching an area no larger than about two square feet, we finally saw the little devil winking back at us in the light reflected from the lamp Ashley had plugged in. So, the lens is now being disinfected again, and I will give it another try later on. But the right lens still feels good – which means I don’t feel it at all – and my distance vision really is better. I’ll enjoy that for a while. Next week when I get the scrip for the TINTED monovision lenses, I will at least be able to tell the difference between when they are in or not, because my eyes will not be as green without them. Because, as I have learned already, if my vision deteriorates, I’ll just assume it’s because I’m tired. As I am right now. Let me go check to feel if that lens is still in!
I’ll let you know in a minute. . .
Hold on. . .
It’s IN there! So my eyes are just tired! And guess what!?! I put the right lens in 5 minutes ago, AND IT’S STILL IN!!!. . . I think – but I can see the keyboard, and the TV across the room, so it must be in! I’ll live dangerously, and not bother to check.
I’ll let you know tomorrow if there is anything to take out tonight.
I wish you all enough light, enough love, enough joy, enough laughter, enough. . .
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Reflections From a Cloudy Mirror 
Yep! That’s about it.
Maybe you can get some that glow, that way when/if you loose them they will be easy to find. The last time I went to my daughters house her boyfriends sister walked out with bright red ones in her eyes. whao boy that was eye opening.
Ah yes! Vampire eyes! Our kids had some like that when they were in high school! What a hoot! I think those would go over really well in the choir loft on Sunday mornings, don’t you? 😀
I think my green tints will probably be a bit easier to find – if only in the solution they swim in. . .
You make that story so funny when I know it was so stressful for you. I got mono vision glasses which I hate and refuse to use. As bad as my vision was it’s worse with those glasses. And oh so understand you happiness with the contacts. I would be thrilled!!!! I am always loosing my glasses, and I have about four pair at least. You wouldn’t believe the dog and cat hair that sticks to them. And smudges from I don’t know what. And scratches. Ugh good grief charlie brown! If I could just figure out a way to get one of those things in my eye I would!!!! My eye just shut when it saw it coming. Or it would touch my eye and pop back off. If you have any tips be sure to let me know. I wish you the best of luck with yours. I know they will make life much easier for you.
Well, standing back from it, as I try to do each day, while reflecting on each day’s occurrences, it actually is quite funny! I won’t say I started laughing right away, but the more I pictured the absurdity of me down on the floor feeling around for something invisible, the more I started to laugh.
Pappy (my father-in-love) had something he would say when he saw people in similar positions, “All my kingdom for a slingshot!” LOL
Good luck keeping them in your eye and off the floor.
I thought, “good grief,” before I saw your hubby quoted as saying the same thing.
I don’t know what to say, except maybe put them on over some kind of tray.
I admire your grit and determination, if not your hand/eye coordinatation.
Yes, pun intended.
Er, coordination.