20-20 Vision

 March 28, 2021 – I’ve been experiencing a very low eye vision these past few weeks. No redness or irritation in my eyes, though … but I had a hard time typing in the computer because of poor eye sight, and when I read a book, it was completely blurred.

I heard that Isabela will be placed under GCQ first hour tomorrow, so today is my chance to get my eyes check, kasi baka hindi na naman ako makakalabas dahil sa GCQ.

The optometrist at Executive Optical (EO) at the Ground Floor Northstar Mall in Ilagan is friendly.  Before she ran through various tests, she asked me if I had undergone any eye treatment in the past. Maybe she saw something in my eyes.

I said that I had my left eye scraped by an ophthalmologist from Saint Luke conducting a Medical Mission in the province some 13 years ago. The ophthalmologist with his intern had to remove the pinkish, triangular tissue growth on the cornea of my left eye. He called it pterygium, that when left unattended, it could cover the pupil of the eye and may cause vision problems. I was self conscious and annoyed because I always feel there was something that got stuck in my left eye. Sometimes it got red and irritated when I read a lot of books.

During the surgery the ophthalmologist might have observed that I was a little bit nervous, so he kept on talking to calm my senses. He said that the cause of pterygium is unknown. His assistant while dropping some liquid anesthetic in my eyes also talked and talked a lot of trivia – that according to her, people who live near the equator with dry season and lot of exposure to the ultraviolet rays, with irritants of dust and winds like the Philippines, and if you’re a man between 20 and 40, you will most likely get pterygium. Though the surgery may help, but the pterygium may return for more aggressive growth, or in some cases also, it will stop. They kept on talking for the whole duration of the surgery, scraping something in my left eye that lasted at least 45 minutes, well maybe to keep me awake. I must be wide awake and my left eye must be opened all the time. I remember I never blinked for 45 minutes maybe because of the anesthetic eye drops. Yes, indeed I never felt pain during the whole procedure.

I only felt the pain the night after the surgery kasi nawala ang epekto ng anesthesia. I was given three days work leave while wearing an eye patch on my left eye like a Caribbean pirate. The after surgery eye drops were also given free that lasted almost a month. Thanks for that Medical Mission from Saint Luke Medical Center. Many senior citizens and indigent Isabeleños also availed free cataract operations that time.

Back to the EO. The optometrist ran various tests to evaluate the eyes. In every eye exam, she identified what type of eye evaluation she was doing. I remember eye muscle test, visual acuity test, refraction assessment, and slit-lamp examination.

After all the series of eye examination, she said “ito ang grado ng mata mo…..” and then she handed me an eye glass to test on. I wore it and to read the reading material she gave me, and presto … “naging malinaw na ang lahat.” She allowed me to walk on around the clinic with the glasses on, and asked me if I felt dizzy and I said no. Di ba, isn’t it nice to have an eye care professional to consult, a licensed optometrist at that – the first responders when it comes to vision problems.

When I was having a hard time looking for the frame and brand of glasses that suits me, the EO staff was there –  very accommodating to assist me. I learned later that it will take two to three weeks before I can get the final cut of my “graded” glasses, because they have to order it somewhere, maybe at their EO main office. It was quite expensive though, yun kasi ang advise ng EO staff na nag-assist sa akin. Siya kasi namili sa frame at brand ng glasses. And, besides it was 50% off, pero mahal pa rin. At since progressive daw yung grade ng mata ko, siya pa nag-decide na lagyan ng anti-radiation, which means an additional payment of P1,800. While they will have yet to order my glasses, I was just advised to pay an advance payment of 50% of the total.

Whatever the cost, basta my only concern now is that somehow my poor vision might be corrected by glasses, not another surgical operation. And, I don’t care how I look with glasses on, so long that I can perform my job well and can read 20-20 with my books again.