Cataractivity (article in progress)

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On an innocuous Sunday in March earlier this year, I was driving to H-Mart with my wife when I realized that I couldn't read the road signs. Throughout the next few weeks I realized I could see less and less. What I didn't know is that cataracts had formed in my eyes and were getting worse day by day.

Cataracts are very common, and repairing them is the most common surgeries in North America. I'd source but more than likely one of your grandparents has had the surgery. What sets me apart, is that at the time of writing this I'm 35 years old. I'm about 35-40 years younger than most people get this surgery.

Standard markers for this type of ailment in younger folks are Diabetes, long-term use of steroids, or damage / trauma to the head or eye. Fortunately for me, I don't have Diabetes, I have never used any type of steroid (aside from Flonase once or twice), and I haven't had any trauma to the head. (I always say "I don't remember having head trauma in a slightly self-deprecating way.) So what then was the cause? I have no idea, and my doctors didn't either. My wife thinks it could be my light eye color, and exposure to UV light from living in Florida on and off for about 15 years.

So, Cataracts? Specifically "Posterior Sub-Capsular Cataracts," or PSC's for short, What is a PSC, you may be thinking? Well, it's a clouding of the rear of the natural lens of the eye. Essentially, think about if your phone's camera was smudged, but instead of it being on the outside of the phone, it was on the inside of the camera's lens.

Wow, that sucks! What was that like?

Thank you, dear reader for your sympathy. It sucked, a whole lot. This year, minus the cataracts has been stressful for the following reasons:

Moving into a new home at the end of 2024.
Dog passing away in March
Planning for, and having a Wedding in September.
General state of affairs in the United States of America.
General Mental Health and stuff.

So, with tons of stress packed on my vision started to cloud. (Note, that I wasn't necessarily losing my vision, but my visual acuity has degraded immensely.) It made it hard to work, to participate in my hobbies, and to do anything in general. My general quality of life and satisfaction with anything was very low. Everything was blurry, out of focused, and above all else light was the enemy.

Here's a terrible, but amazing image I found about what it actually looked like:

Graphic Design is my Passion | You know I had to do it to 'em.

Initially, I thought my vision was just getting worse because I was older. It had changed 1 point the year before, so I booked an eye exam in July, and essentially I failed. Each line was impossible to see including the top line. The optometrist was like "holy shit?" "you're not 75. Why do you have cataracts." I was like "I have no idea." Then, was scheduled for a surgical consult a month later, where the surgeon said (in my own words), "Dude, what the fuck we have to get you on the schedule."

October 19th, and November 20th were my two surgery dates. And, almost instantly my life changed for the better.