The View from Inside Cataract Surgery

© Sylvia Liu

I've been away from this blog for awhile, with no good excuse. But a couple of days ago, I did have an excuse -I had cataract surgery on my right eye. No, I'm not 82 like my dad, who got his cataracts done recently. My dr. blames it on either my extreme nearsightedness (a risk factor) or UV damage (I grew up in the tropics and never met a pair of sunglasses).

It was a bummer I needed it but, two good things came out of it: (1) I got a lens implanted that corrected my astigmatism so now my near vision with that eye is 20/30 and improving every day. and (2) the actual surgery inspired this sketch. This is the view I had during the lens insertion phase -- plump ridged marshmallows placed against a glowing magenta field. (OK, maybe I was tripping a bit from the light sedation, but really, this is what I saw). My husband suggested that maybe I should write a picture book for the elderly, SO YOU'RE GOING IN FOR CATARACT SURGERY.

What do you think?