Cataract Patient Story: A letter to Auckland Eye

Dear Auckland Eye,

Hi, my name is Caroline.  I’m a mother and grandmother in my early sixties. I am semi-retired; however, I do a bit of work in front of a computer screen. Approximately a year ago, even though I do wear reading glasses, I noticed that I was getting severe headaches which appeared like cut glass in my line of vision. Although I had episodes where my vision was disturbed, I still tried to do work on my computer at the times when my eyesight was all right. I used glasses for my close-up work, but I had no idea how much my long vision had been eroded.

Deteriorated Vision

It was Christmas time when we went away on holiday that it came to me how little of the landscape and countryside I could actually see. My world had become closed down to my immediate surroundings. Another thing I noticed was that my balance on stairs was dodgy. I was becoming painfully cautious when negotiating pathways or roadways and was not my usual confident self. I also discovered myself relying very heavily on handrails. I finally realised that I had a real problem when I visited an optometrist prior to getting my new driver’s license, and that was when my cataracts were diagnosed.

After the Surgery

The morning I took the eye patch off after the surgery was figuratively the beginning of a new life; I was literally stunned. I was completely taken aback seeing the expressions on peoples faces instead of bland features. Suddenly, I could see people’s eyelashes which I could not before.

Having had the surgery on my left eye, I realized that the eye that was the better of the two my right was now lacking, and I did not hesitate in my decision to also have that one done.

I must admit before my first surgery I was a little apprehensive as would be expected.

A Big Thank you to Auckland Eye

Here is where I will give massive praise to the staff at Auckland eye, as they were just so professional and friendly. The hospital was spotlessly clean and I felt I was in confident hands throughout the procedure. I can’t praise The surgeon Dr Sue Ormonde enough; she is friendly, calm, skilled and extremely competent. I felt that my eye health was in excellent hands.

My surgery went fine. It was very un-intrusive and took only a few minutes. I might be the biggest sixty-year-old baby in the world because I don’t do pain well, but in this case, I was given a gently administered injection and the rest was a breeze. As for my recovery, one day at home and next morning I removed the patch; whereupon, I administered some eyedrops which I had been given. Then came the thrill, I had what felt like new eyes. That very day I had a checkup by Dr Ormonde. Subsequently, a couple of weeks later, I had a follow-up appointment and everything was perfect.

After my final examination, I was so impressed with the result of my surgery I asked if Auckland Eye had a comment section on their website in which I could post, and pass on my experience. I thoroughly recommend this life-changing procedure to anyone struggling with cataracts. I do hope that my observations can be of help to others. I simply love seeing the world as I do now.

Thank you to all at Auckland Eye, and a special thanks to Dr Sue Ormonde.

All my best regards,

Caroline Bennell