Next Week Should be Interesting

I’m scheduled for my second/last cataract surgery a week from tomorrow. It was all set. My friend/neighbor was going to take me, wait for me (a requirement) and bring me home. She did this last time, in December.

This time, however, she is in the hospital with double pneumonia. We hoped she’d be out tomorrow but she is still very weak. She is eating well and making good progress but will not be able to handle the surgery trip.

I tried to reschedule today. The earliest next appointment would be mid-April. Both the scheduler and I agreed I should just keep next week’s appointment.

I have two options for transportation.

I can find another ride - this is not easy. Two of my neighbors come to mind but I cannot ask them to sit there for several hours. Both have back and/or neck issues and I think this would be very hard on them. Another neighbor just today offered the ride but it might be pulled back after he finds out we won’t even know the time of the surgery until the night before.

The other option is to take my insurance company’s free ride service. I’ve used them. I like them. But if I do that, they only drop me and pick me up. In that case, they will not give me the heavier anesthesia they gave me last time. I’m not sure that’s a big problem. A dear friend had hers done back in ’94 and back then, they only gave locals. If she could handle it, I’m sure I could.

I’ll know in the next day or so whether that surgery-time issue is a problem for my neighbor. 

Either way, I’ll be finished with both eyes next week. What a thrill that will be. After the three weeks until the final follow-up on that eye, they’ll give me one free pair of prescription glasses. Can’t wait.  

Tomorrow, I'm praying for another friend who is undergoing tricky surgery on her vertebrae.