{"id":95731,"date":"2021-03-06T05:31:04","date_gmt":"2021-03-06T12:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=95731"},"modified":"2021-03-06T08:11:49","modified_gmt":"2021-03-06T15:11:49","slug":"a-tree-sparrow-a-bald-eagle-and-a-request-for-medical-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/06\/a-tree-sparrow-a-bald-eagle-and-a-request-for-medical-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tree Sparrow, A Bald Eagle And A Request For Medical Advice"},"content":{"rendered":"

It may be time for a medical procedure I’ve been putting off.<\/p>\n

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Like many my age my eyesight has been slowly deteriorating for years. Yesterday morning in the Wasatch Mountains I was pretty close to this Tree Sparrow while it was perched on a fence wire but I just couldn’t spot it. Mia told me where it was but I still couldn’t locate it until it flew to the ground where this photo was taken. Possibly because of heat waves I never did get any truly sharp shots of the sparrow, but still…<\/p>\n

It was just another frustrating visual experience out of many similar ones in recent years..<\/p>\n

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Later that morning I knew to look for Bald Eagles in a clump of trees where I’d often seen them in the past. Mia spotted this one but I couldn’t see it until I drove quite a bit closer, even though the dark immature eagle stood out like a sore thumb against the snow covered hillside in the background.<\/p>\n

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Similar events are a regular occurrence for me, both while in the field photographing birds and during my normal daily activities. I try to avoid driving at night whenever possible, I often can’t read cooking instructions on packaged food items or printed information on medication packaging (even with the aid of reading glasses) and even though I’ve been an avid reader of nonfiction books for most of my life it’s been several years since I’ve read one cover to cover. I really miss my reading routine!<\/p>\n

The list goes on. I’m also becoming far less confident of my ability to evaluate my photos for sharpness while processing them and as you can imagine, that’s distressing.<\/p>\n

All this came to a head a few days ago when I had to have my eyes tested before renewing my drivers license. A thorough eye exam revealed that I don’t (quite) need glasses to drive but…<\/p>\n

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Creative Commons – Holly Fischer<\/em><\/p>\n

cataract surgery to replace the clouded lenses in my eyes is becoming increasingly warranted. I’ve known I had developing cataracts for about five years but my ophthalmologist is now saying “it’s time”. He said I could put it off for another year or so but perhaps I’m to the point that delaying the inevitable just isn’t smart.<\/p>\n

But I know that results of cataract surgery can vary significantly and with any surgery there’s always the possibility of complications and other things going wrong so I’m apprehensive about pulling the plug on my natural lenses. Once you’ve gone over that cliff there’s no going back.<\/p>\n

So I got to thinking. I know that many of my blog followers are roughly in my age group so I suspect some of you have either had cataract surgery or know someone who has. Why not take advantage of that valuable experience and ask for advice?<\/p>\n

I’m particularly interested in the following information from “those in the know” from your own experience or the experience of others:<\/p>\n