This incident is amusing to me now, but it wasn’t at the time. My phone was in my hand when it rang. Although I could read nothing on the screen, I hit the right area and was talking to the doctor who had removed my second cataract that morning. He called to ask how I was, and I blurted out something one should never say to an eye surgeon, “I can’t see!”

I should have said I can’t read, or more specifically, I can’t see to read. Perhaps he is used to people being overly dramatic, because he asked if I had any pain. I had the correct answer to that – none.

I could see things at a distance, which was exactly as it should be. I could read ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. That, too, should have been expected, but it was a rude shock. I wanted to let daughters Lise and Kate know that the surgery was successful. I guessed the placement of the icon on the phone for texting, but I couldn’t pick out individual names. John got one for me and touched the microphone icon so that I could dictate. If you’ve ever dictated to a phone, you know it is fraught with danger. It maliciously substitutes bizarre words. Somehow I think we got the news to Kate, and Lise called when she got the initial statement.

I was not prepared for the almost total despair that came over me. How could I get through the rest of the week with grandson David and son John $pencer working and John away for the weekend? If important notices came on the phone or computer, I wouldn’t be able to see them. Deleting spam would be impossible. There would be no writing or commenting on blog posts.

David saved the day, suggesting I get readers found in many stores. I had forgotten that Kate pointed toward a rack of readers in Walmart. David mentioned Dollar General, and we would pass four of them on the way home from the doctor’s office the next morning. John was a life-saver, reading the labels and helping me try them on. At the first store we found a pair of sunglasses with clear glass on the top and lenses for reading on the bottom. The second store had a greater selection of plain readers. I don’t know that I picked the best ones, but I can see the phone and monitor now. In about a month the eyes will have settled enough that I can get new prescription glasses.