I apologize

...to all my readers who keep waiting for a post. I have spent the summer in the fog of cataract surgery which, although many people say is a breeze, to me was a challenging period of my life. Although my vision now is very good and I am very satisfied with the surgery and my doctor, the road to this point took many strange and anxious turns. Surgery on my left eye (eye # 2) was postponed minutes before being wheeled into the operating room because the nurse and then doctor noticed an infection in my eye. I had to go home and wait a week and a half for that second surgery putting antibiotic drops in the eye to clear up the infection. That was hard for me. Then I kept having the feeling of something in my eyes, both, but worse in the first eye. Then of course the drops I was putting in my eyes for a total of 8 weeks and the antibiotic cream I rubbed on the left eye for several weeks every evening. The drops were actually the least of the issues as I had no trouble with that. Nevertheless, the process of cataract surgery is amazing and anyone who is contemplating surgery on one or both eyes should consider having it. I also recommend Dr. Roger Husted in Kingston for people who live in Ulster County. He was remarkably sensitive, accommodating, and understanding. His reassurance to me constantly was one of the things that got me through the whole process. And of course he was using the latest lenses, called Toric which not only correct the vision but also correct the astigmatism. In my right eye (eye # 1) my vision is now 20-30 and in the left, 20-25 which the Refraction Technician told me will shift between 20-20 under perfect conditions such as weather and dryness of my eyes to 20-25. The Toric Lenses are not covered under Medicare and it cost me extra. The prospect of not having to wear glasses for distance was too good to pass up. Of course I now continue to wear glasses for reading as I did before, but now I have no short vision for reading as I once did a couple of months ago. I am still able to answer my cell phone, see my food to an extent, and do a number of other close up things, but little else. I will try bifocals for times when I need near and far vision quickly such as eating meals for example. I will try, however, to only wear glasses for reading. I love not wearing glasses.

So, although I did do "normal" things and even produced a few TV shows along the way, my energy was being used for my surgical situation. I did a lot of Alan's Italy thinking however and did one show which did not turn out correct with blurring photos and even blurrier videos. I will revisit the possibility of editing my own TV show at home rather than doing the broadcast in the studio. My goal will be to create perfect images and videos and to make the process as simple as possible. The stress I always experienced that I wrote about at great length in these blogs is starting to get to me. I will pursue that possibility in the near future. If I can produce my own show, I will still upload to Youtube and give a DVD copy to WPAT. I will keep you posted. Until then Alan's Italy might not appear on Youtube for a while. Not sure at this time.