Eye Surgery Update

Here’s a quick update for folks who may be wondering how my recent eye surgery went.

First, thank you for your prayers! They’ve been a huge help!

The second eye surgery did not go as well as the first.

I could tell, while the surgery was in progress, that the emotional temperature of the room went up, and the surgical staff was showing signs of concern.

The surgeon was even stomping (repeatedly) on what I assume was a metallic foot pedal trying to get the equipment to work properly.

I was even concerned that they were going to abort the surgery part way through, but they didn’t.

They got it done.

The problem, it turned out, was that my second cataract was much larger than the first and, since I am not elderly, it was not brittle and did not shatter when they applied ultrasound to it.

Instead, the surgeon said the next day, it was like using a jackhammer to chip away at hardened leather.

The pieces of the cataract were also sticky, they said, and they kept clogging up the tube used to remove them. It clogged three times, which they said has never happened before.

As a result of the amount of energy they had to pump into my eye to get the job done, the surface of the eye became inflamed, and so even though they got the original lens out and the new one put in, I didn’t have 20/20 vision the next day the way I did with the first eye.

Instead, my vision has continued to be blurry as the eye heals and the inflammation goes down.

I have often thought of the line from the Gospels where Jesus heals a blind man partially and he says that he now sees people, but they look like trees walking around. Then Jesus heals him fully.

The good news in my case is that the eye is healing. Although for the first few days I wasn’t sure how much my vision was improving, it has now begun to improve more rapidly. In fact, in the last 24 hours it has improved markedly, to the point that I can now see lines of text and even read very large words (like the JimmyAkin.com at the top of my web site).

The bad news is that if it heals to the point that the images coming through it are as crystal-clear as those from the first eye then I am very likely to have double vision, which would require additional measures (possibly including surgery).

Still, my vision situation is vastly better than it was a month ago.

I continue to marvel at how clear and sharp and colorful everything is (at least out of the first eye). Often I just look around and marvel at the world and how gorgeous it is.

So I am very thankful to God that my vision has improved so dramatically, and I am very thankful to all who have prayed for my vision.

Please keep me in your prayers as the healing continues!

Thank you and God bless you!