老花眼

An open letter to a fellow "old flower eyer":

Hi Aniram,

Long sightedness (or farsightedness) AND "old flower" both have the same outcome, meaning people with LS or OF have difficulty seeing up close.
In both instances, the light falls behind the retina due to the shorter eyeball.

However, the CAUSE of LS and OF is different.

In optical terms:
Long or Far sightness is HYPEROPIA
Old flower eyes is PRESBYOPIA
Short sightness is MYOPIA

Presbyopia is an age related process while Long (Far) sightness is related to the shape of the eyeball. Presbyopia is due to the loss of flexibility (musular fibers or protein build up) of the natural lens in your eye.

In USA, a new method of surgery has been temporary approved to correct Old Flower. (April 2004). I think we can wait till we are 70 or 90 . Of course by then we could be dead with perfect eyesight for the journey to the other side.

What come may, I am happy to have the lasik surgery. Soon or sooner I will need reading glasses. Doc explains that if you have myopia, then your will need reading glasses at a later stage - meaning you have to wear bifocals at some time in your life.
 
Now that I have "perfect eyesight" (20/20):
1) I don't need contact lenese or bifocals
2) I no longer need to memorise the Smellen Eye Chart to cheat my optometrist
3) now I look cool and intellectual with my flaming red rimmed reading glasses and only need it when reading size of letters the height of a viral cell. 
If I have not gone for the lasik surgery I would be blind as a bat in the left eye (-9.00) and half blind in the right (-5.25), therefore need contact lenses if I can find them, or I need bifocals when I age gradually.  

One of the disadvantages of having old flower eyes is that I cannot go dine by myself without the risk of pointing to a blur menu and saying to the waiter "I'll have this" - and ordering the address and fax number of the restaurant. 

The doc said I would have Monovision. Left eye to see far, and right eye to see near. The brain naturally favors one eye. Great! But I can't play "I spy with my little eye" with my nephew and nieces, I have to play "I spy with my left eye" .

Cheers, your fellow old flower eyer,

[post 24/1997]