2024-11-21 - senses working overtime
My mom had cataract surgery yesterday. I went to Atlanta Tuesday afternoon so that I could take her to the 6:15 AM appointment Wednesday. This was her right eye - the left was done about 3 weeks ago at the beginning of the month.
This is all to say that her experience going from the right eye to left eye surgery seemed night in day. The first time around, she didn't remember any of the surgery, but was in pain a few hours after. This time, she says she felt she was awake the entire time, but in no pain. She then slept for the next 4-5 hours after we got home and was never in pain. Though most shockingly, she said when they removed the bandage during the follow-up this morning, she could not see out of her left eye. When they removed the bandage from the right eye, she said she could see, albeit her vision was still a bit blurry. I suppose the radically different experiences between the two procedures left her with a bit of emotional whiplash.
One of my favorite quotes is from The Books.
"Expectation leads to disappointment.
If you do not expect something big, huge or exciting, then..."
I guess each eye is different and responds to the procedure accordingly. These are the human senses after all -attached to the plastic brain - it can take time to adjust.
My dad swears by his new hearing aids, but also that his hearing had gotten worse since he began using hearing aids to begin with 5+ years ago. I wonder if, when aided by externalities, the brain stops working as hard on actively perceptive hearing. Does it become dependent and less able to produce discernable sounds, akin to the addict whose body no longer produces pleasurable hormones or chemicals without their crutch?
There is an answer. I'm curious when it will be found.