I think it was about ten years ago that I noticed my arms
getting too short. I'm not sure, but I believe that it was
just around the time that they started printing the telephone
directory in smaller print. When I reached the point where I
couldn't read the fine print on a passport application, I
figured it was time to see an eye doctor.
He tested me and sure enough, told me that it was `age-
related,' a condition called `presbyopia'. It seems that the
aging eye cannot change focus as easily as a younger one.
Reading glasses were the obvious solution. Here began the
"Where are my glasses?" period. Of course, I did have a
permanent place for them, however, they were often not left
there. I tried the chain- around-the-neck trick, but the
chain always got stuck in my sheitel. Furthermore, the
term `reading glasses' is actually a misnomer, since after a
while, especially after a few years of progressively stronger
corrections, I needed them for such delicate work as cutting
tomatoes. The on-again, off-again syndrome would peak at the
supermarket or in a bookstore, when I couldn't use my reading
glasses while scanning the shelves, but did need them for
checking a hechsher or for a sneak preview of a
book.
Next step: bifocals? Who, me? Wasn't that for old people and
those who have worn glasses all their lives? Well, I must
admit that I did wear glasses as a child, from age 2 through
16. Victim of the `lazy eye' syndrome, I remember doing
follow-the-number exercises with a red pencil and a patch
over one eye. But I threw away those glasses as a teenager,
with the doctor's permission.
I then entered a world of progressive glasses. This wondrous
invention mimicked bifocals, since they somehow seamlessly
merged a correction for distance on top, a middle range
correction in the middle, and a reading correction on the
bottom. I was free of the glasses search! I can't say I loved
having glasses permanently perched atop my nose, but what was
the alternative?
There was only one hitch: try as I might, I couldn't use
these progressives at the computer unless I liked having a
permanent stiff neck: since the correction for close-up is at
the bottom of the lens, one has to pick up one's neck to see
the computer screen.
So what was the solution? You guessed it. Another pair of
glasses -- for computer use only. Every time I sat down at
the computer, I took off the progressives and put on the
computer (`reading') glasses. That worked just fine.
Until one day, we decided to look into getting contact lenses
for my teenage daughter. Now I remember when contact lenses
were so expensive that people took out insurance for them! I
had vaguely heard talk about hard and soft and disposable,
but really let this information pass over me. Well, it seems
that contacts are no big deal any more. An hour later, my
daughter walked in with her new lenses.
The neighbors noticed, of course, and the compliments were
well received. During the conversation, I mentioned that, of
course, I could never wear contacts because I was a
progressive. Lo and behold, one neighbor told me about
something called monovision. This is a system in which one
eye is corrected for distance and one eye is corrected for
close-up. It sounded crazy to me but my neighbor assured me
that it worked.
I did some research and found that this system can work for
up to seventy percent of the people who try it, that it takes
a period of adjustment and it was sometimes a problem for
drivers, which didn't apply to me. So off I went to the
friendly optometrist who definitely felt I was a candidate.
He tested me and fitted me wth ONE contact lens. Since,
according to his findings, my right eye was dominant and
needed no correction for distance, the left eye could be
corrected for close-up with the use of only one contact
lens.
At the beginning, it took me 20-30 tries to get it in my eye
correctly. It certainly SEEms much harder than it LOOKS. It
was somewhat hard to read with since my field of vision was
limited. Let's say, one could read a book easily, but
scanning a newspaper was more difficult. As a couple of weeks
went by, the insertion process sped up and I was happy with
my lens except for the computer. It was hard to see things
like commas and periods, a vital part of my day. Evidently,
correcting just one eye for close work was insufficient. I
refused to compromise on my eyesight.
So what was the solution? Back to the bifocals? Certainly
not! I capitulated to another pair of glasses. These are
clear in one eye and correct the other for close work. In
other words, these are my contact lenses-computer glasses. My
old computer glasses switch off with my progressives when I
am not wearing my contact (singular), like when I have just
woken up.
I guess us aging baby-boomers have to come to grips with a
lot of things, like realizing that we are no longer 18. But
there are various options open. I'm not even going to
consider surgical monovision correction. We must daily thank
Hashem for the sight we have, and ask Him to help us guide
our eyes to see only the good things.
