Having Eye Surgery - Positive Thoughts & Prayers Needed!

I said a prayer for you Tony. I'm expecting to hear good
news from you soon!

I have it too. Tony, please let me know how this goes, as the CA DMV has been taking my heart out over this for almost a decade!

Of course you have my prayers!

rjm

Is your case as severe as mine? You can shoot me a PM and we can discuss. The NCDMV didn't give me any problems - it's just the fact that I only missed one stinkin' question on the written test for the permit but I'm still wanting to have the surgery so that I'll at least know what it's like for my eyes to look "normal" (and I don't mean that as a mean slant towards you, my friend. I promise. I appreciate the prayers very much!

Tony, I think we've discussed the first question. Mine is strictly amblyopia: I see like most everybody here sees, but my brain got wired differently at birth to do it. {No smart remarks, now, about being "wired the wrong way." } It's very common - this particular sort of problem. Something happens when you're born: the eye gets injured very slightly, just for a day, even, and the brain immediately rewires.

But for the edification of people not from the U.S., it's state-by-state, and it CHANGES! You can Google "amblyopia" and driving in U.S." or something similar, and you'll get the "numbers" each state requires. The vast majority permit people to drive so long as they can see to a reasonable degree with both eyes, and have peripheral vision. Some require extra mirrors if the weaker eye doesn't make the grade. But one of the WORST, in the past decade, has become California. The requirements are quite astonishing, even for those with perfect vision. There's some sort of "writing test" which is not a driving-written test, but to test one's cognitive abilities to drive. The motivations behind this are up to you. One could say they are targeting older drivers. But I would like to find out if the test is only in English, or if they offer more than one language. (Just curious, as it is California, a border state.) Also, not everyone graduated high school, and may not have the best writing skills, but it doesn't mean they have dementia and can't drive! As I said, their rules are way out. If you already have your licence for years, and have no obvious difficulties, you likely will notice nothing but the crowding. But for anyone a little bit out of the norm, it can be nightmare.

Most states are reasonable. I know Sammy Davis, Jr. had a license (NY, I think), and he had a GLASS eye, and it was not an issue. I think NY is still ok. As are most states. But not here. It's virtually impossible now if you have amblyopia to renew your license in California. But not entirely impossible: you just have to endure torture is all -- and it never ends.

{Maybe I should move to Britain. }

rjm (I didn't mean that - I'm still a patriot, and I love "football"!)

{Maybe I should move to Britain. }

rjm (I didn't mean that - I'm still a patriot, and I love "football"!)

Not a bad idea I didn't know they were that strict in the US. My Dad has a glass eye and drives. In the UK as long as you can read a car number plate from 75 ft you are classified as fit to drive. Also, if you hold a UK licence you can hire a car in the states.

rjm,

It's quite ironic that you should mention California being so strict about Amblyopia & driving because I befriended a lady on FB a few days ago and we were discussing this particular eye problem and she brought up how getting your license in CA can be a nightmare.

It takes about three months to FULLY recover from the surgery due, in part I guess, to having to "teach" the bad eye how to function correctly. There's a doctor in Washington, D.C. That does this surgery who has a very high success rate for the surgery.

[url]http://www.edow.com/strabismus-lazy-eye[/url]


(I apologize for not posting the hyper-link correctly.....I'm using my new IPad to post. Also, there are a couple of PowerPoint presentations on how the surgery is done and there are also some before/during/after surgery pictures that might be a bit too much for some to view but to get the full effect of how the surgery is done, the person should watch them).

All the best!

JosephC

I'll pray for you. God bless you!

http://www.edow.com/strabismus-lazy-eye

I've 'corrected' the link so it works now......................

http://www.edow.com/strabismus-lazy-eye

I've 'corrected' the link so it works now......................

Thanks, Colin, I appreciate it.

Best of luck to you!

Tony, best of luck to you and you'll be in my prayers. Keep a positive attitude!

Good luck Tony.No prayers but positive thoughts and good wishes are offered from me.

norrie

Wishing you all the best, Tony!! Hope everything goes well, and looking forward to hearing how you're doing....

Good luck, Tony! I'm sure it's going to work out fine.

I very much appreciate all the good wishes and prayers from everyone. The consultation appointment is on Thursday, October 18, 2012. I should know that day when the actual surgery will be scheduled. I'm both excited and nervous about this (but at least I'll be asleep completely for the surgery via general anesthesia, thank God!)

I'll continue to keep everyone posted!

Love you all!

Hey, ya'll!

I apologize for this update being so late but I had a bad night last night due to accidentally hitting myself somehow in my left eye and it hurt like hell until I put the drops in that the doctor prescribed. The left eye is severely red and swollen (as the doctor said that it would be) but that will all go away in a few weeks.

All in all, the surgery was a SUCCESS!! The surgery was performed this past Thursday morning. I can't believe that I waited so long to have it done but I am sitting here as one of the happiest men on the planet!!

Thanks to everyone who gave good wishes and said prayers - they all helped!

I was in and out of surgery a little over an hour.

Hey, ya'll!

I apologize for this update being so late but I had a bad night last night due to accidentally hitting myself somehow in my left eye and it hurt like hell until I put the drops in that the doctor prescribed. The left eye is severely red and swollen (as the doctor said that it would be) but that will all go away in a few weeks.

All in all, the surgery was a SUCCESS!! The surgery was performed this past Thursday morning. I can't believe that I waited so long to have it done but I am sitting here as one of the happiest men on the planet!!

Thanks to everyone who gave good wishes and said prayers - they all helped!

I was in and out of surgery a little over an hour.

I am so very happy for you, Tony.

You are one of the true heroes of this forum, and I salute you on your success!

Hey, ya'll!

I apologize for this update being so late but I had a bad night last night due to accidentally hitting myself somehow in my left eye and it hurt like hell until I put the drops in that the doctor prescribed. The left eye is severely red and swollen (as the doctor said that it would be) but that will all go away in a few weeks.

All in all, the surgery was a SUCCESS!! The surgery was performed this past Thursday morning. I can't believe that I waited so long to have it done but I am sitting here as one of the happiest men on the planet!!

Thanks to everyone who gave good wishes and said prayers - they all helped!

I was in and out of surgery a little over an hour.

I am so very happy for you, Tony.

You are one of the true heroes of this forum, and I salute you on your success!

I don't know about being any kind of "hero", DJC, but I appreciate the kind words, my friend and fellow FECC'er.

I hope that everything work's out great for you!

Great to hear the surgery was a success !

Hope the swelling & soreness are soon gone.

Glad all went well Tony.

Hi Tony,

I'm glad things went well and I hope you will be driving around town in a pink Caddy very soon my Friend.

Congratulations, Tony!!!

All the best!
Robin
P.S. -- Over on FB, maybe you could tell me who the lady is who had the DMV nightmare? I don't really want to go through it all again, but . . . you never know. It's literally traumatic. Again, you rock!

Last edited by rjm on Tue Oct 30, 2012 6:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

Very glad that all went well.

Glad it was a success,Tony

Glad everything went well for you, Tony. Didn´t see this thread until now. Hope you have a speedy recovery!