Article Reproduced Courtesy of Pioneer Press
The Eyes Have It
By Chuck Wenk, Pioneer Press, May 5, 2005
It actually started 10 years ago but didn’t really
get rough until a few months ago.
They say cataracts mature slowly and then, at a certain
point in your life, just begin to block your vision. My
problems were glare from headlights coming at me, spears
of light streaking out of runway landing lights at night
when I flew home from a trip and a hard-to-describe gray
haze out in the distance.
Last week, however, after only a 20 minute procedure at
the capable hands of Dr. Bradley Ruff at Lake Forest Hospital,
I was sent home with a designated driver and a patch over
the left eye. When they do both eyes the minimum wait for
the second one is two weeks. I’ll be going back for
seconds next week.
I’d been at Lake Forest Hospital several times but
never as a patient. I arrived at 6 a.m. to prepare for the
8 a.m. operation and I was floored by the immaculate room
they put me in, by the cheerful and pleasant staff and just
generally the way I was treated at this beautiful hospital.
The dictionary describes cataracts as “a disease of
the eye in which the crystalline lens becomes opaque and
the vision impaired.”
To say the least my vision was, indeed, “impaired”
and I don’t know if it was old Father Time or the
time I spend in the sun. In any event, I couldn’t
see the ball after I hit it on the golf course. After only
one day at home with a patch over the eye, I was back the
following morning for a checkup.
They slowly removed the patch and I gasped. The wall in
the room was blue not gray. I was hit with a barrage of
colors that had avoided me for several years. I could see
distance clearly and they told me the vision in that eye
was a strong 20/20. It was like Lourdes, I guess. I couldn’t
believe it.
There had been absolutely no pain. A sedative had sort of
put me half asleep during the procedure and I knew something
was going on but felt nothing. They later wheeled me into
s dressing room and brought me some toast and juice and
the only “pain” was when they removed the eye
patch the next day and that was from the tape.
I drove to work the following day after the surgery and
five days later I flew my little airplane around the airport
to get the feel back. It was a clear day and I could see
Chicago on one side and Milwaukee on the other from Kenosha.
So many folks are faced with cataracts and fear the surgery.
Don’t. Dr. Ruff has done more than 8,500 cataract
procedures successfully and as far as I am concerned he
is a humble magician you like and admire the moment you
meet him.
Questions? Call me at (847) 433-8370.
Ready for help? Dr. Ruff is at (847) 295-0001.
I will definitely see you next week.
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Cataracts
