by a Thinker, Sailor, Blogger, Irreverent Guy from Madras

Short-sight, Long-sight, Foresight and Hindsight


Being an individual blessed with both problems of the eye - Distance vision and Near Vision - from an early age (and the increasing dioptres were main reason I jumped at the first offer of the Shore job instead of continuing to sail), I am used to wearing corrective spectacles.  Thus I have both short-sight and long-sight and do not feel embarrassed admitting it.

Not that my embarrassment can do anything about the condition.  I just have had to lump it and get on with life as many people with worse problems (of eye or other physical handicaps) manage to do and do better.

About 7 years after I started to wear the glasses, the dioptres stabilized and for the next 12 years or so I carried the same prescription around.  It became a winter routine every year to consult an Ophthalmologist with all the previous prescriptions and come away with an exact copy.  Preserving all those spectacle prescriptions (from 1997 - would you believe it?), does prove my foresight, is it not?
:-D

As it happens while carrying out a routine, I grew careless and for the last couple of years had not bothered to consult the eye surgeon.  Over the last few months it became quite difficult to read either the billboards a hundred feet away or the fine print in a newspaper advertisement.  After 2 years, last week I went to get my eyes checked up.

Lo and Behold!  Something strange had happened!  The dioptre powers for both distant and near vision and in both eyes had dropped or reduced.  My eyes had actually become better.  No wonder I had such difficulty reading, writing and doing arithmetic.

specs_prescription

There, you can see the Spherical power has actually reduced by 1.00 D for both distant and near vision in my Right Eye; while it has reduced by 1.00 D for near vision in my Left Eye.

The Cylindrical power has remained stable in my Right Eye; while it has reduced by 0.50 D in my Left Eye.  In both the cases, the Axis of correction has shifted, but the Surgeon says that’s nothing to worry about.

Now the only major life style change I have adopted in the intervening years is to ensure one to two helpings of green vegetables and/or spinach in my food - every meal, every day, which was lacking in earlier years.

While sailing, it is almost impossible to have green, leafy vegetables after 4th day away from port. 
As a shore officer at Mumbai, I had fallen for the charms of vada-pav and pav-bhaji, which ensured that I had enough fuel for work (and play), but nothing much green in the intake.

Thus my hindsight tells me that my blessed granny (now long gone) who insisted that leafy, green vegetables are good for eyes, was probably right.  What do you know?  Even the Government of India seems to agree that leafy, green vegetables are good for the eyes [http://healthy-india.org/].

bugs_bunny_n_carrots_cake

(Bugs Bunny Carrot Cake - image courtesy Yochana’s Cake Delight)

My Admiring half admits, ‘Now that’s a darn fine cake!  I’d love to see one of Yosemite Sam.’

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