Not so long ago, it was not at all unusual to see blind people strolling along the streets tap-tapping away with their white sticks, being guided by a dog, normally a Labrador, but I have not seen anyone like that in Britain for years, as far as I remember.
That has to become a good thing; it has to mean that we are starting to cure or at least improve most types of blindness.
My aunty had cataracts for years when I was a child in the Sixties - it was just one of those facts of life. Some people got them when they were old and others did not.
My brother's mother-in-law had cataracts in the late Nineties and she was put on a two year waiting list to have them taken away, but at least she had hope and they were going to be got rid of free of charge.
I do not know of anyone else that has eye trouble except myself. I could not get my glasses clean one day and then a friend said he saw a white spot in one of my eyes. He drove me to the hospital and the doctor said that I had 'premature senile cataracts'.
Well, I live in Thailand now and he did not say those exact words. He told me that the cataracts were because I was prematurely senile.
I asked him if that was what he really meant; he looked it up in a book and we both had a hearty laugh about it, although he never actually corrected himself.
My condition turned out to be a little more serious than just cataracts, but when I went from the local hospital to a major hospital in Pattaya, the surgeon saw me within 30 minutes and asked me if I wanted the cataracts removed.
I said that I did and she was prepared to do the operation there and then. I got it put off for 24 hours, but she would have sorted my eye out that day in a 30 minute operation, which does not need anaesthetic. I think that that was wonderful.
We have come a long way from routinely seeing blind people on the street and putting up with cataracts through a two-year waiting list to immediate removal of cataracts by laser surgery in 40-50 years.
At least we have in the West and in the East too, if you have the money. There are still millions of individuals in Asia and especially in Africa suffering blindness and partial blindness for the sake of an simple 30 minute operation.
Two weeks after my surgical treatment, my other eye commenced to cloud over. It was as if it had been holding on with its last scrap of strength until I got his mate sorted out.
I had that one done last year and when I was allowed to take off my patch and look around me with two decent eyes again for the first time in a decade, I could not believe that I had forgotten how bright the world actually is and that I had not noticed how dingy my world had gotten.
If you are concerned about an eye operation, do not be. What you will experience when you can see properly again will make all the worry seem ridiculous and if you have the chance to give someone their eyesight back, please do it.
That has to become a good thing; it has to mean that we are starting to cure or at least improve most types of blindness.
My aunty had cataracts for years when I was a child in the Sixties - it was just one of those facts of life. Some people got them when they were old and others did not.
My brother's mother-in-law had cataracts in the late Nineties and she was put on a two year waiting list to have them taken away, but at least she had hope and they were going to be got rid of free of charge.
I do not know of anyone else that has eye trouble except myself. I could not get my glasses clean one day and then a friend said he saw a white spot in one of my eyes. He drove me to the hospital and the doctor said that I had 'premature senile cataracts'.
Well, I live in Thailand now and he did not say those exact words. He told me that the cataracts were because I was prematurely senile.
I asked him if that was what he really meant; he looked it up in a book and we both had a hearty laugh about it, although he never actually corrected himself.
My condition turned out to be a little more serious than just cataracts, but when I went from the local hospital to a major hospital in Pattaya, the surgeon saw me within 30 minutes and asked me if I wanted the cataracts removed.
I said that I did and she was prepared to do the operation there and then. I got it put off for 24 hours, but she would have sorted my eye out that day in a 30 minute operation, which does not need anaesthetic. I think that that was wonderful.
We have come a long way from routinely seeing blind people on the street and putting up with cataracts through a two-year waiting list to immediate removal of cataracts by laser surgery in 40-50 years.
At least we have in the West and in the East too, if you have the money. There are still millions of individuals in Asia and especially in Africa suffering blindness and partial blindness for the sake of an simple 30 minute operation.
Two weeks after my surgical treatment, my other eye commenced to cloud over. It was as if it had been holding on with its last scrap of strength until I got his mate sorted out.
I had that one done last year and when I was allowed to take off my patch and look around me with two decent eyes again for the first time in a decade, I could not believe that I had forgotten how bright the world actually is and that I had not noticed how dingy my world had gotten.
If you are concerned about an eye operation, do not be. What you will experience when you can see properly again will make all the worry seem ridiculous and if you have the chance to give someone their eyesight back, please do it.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of topics, and is now involved with 500 Delicious Diabetic Recipes. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Easy Diabetic Meals
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