I'm Back

Xander disobeying a sign. Or was he? We were not kicked out.

The news about my eye yesterday was as good as it could be. The glamorous young surgeon, her assistant, and her "shadow" (a young doctor new to the practice who was observing) all smiled at me happily. "I cheated," was the first thing Dr. Hindman said to me, beaming, as I passed her at a desk on the way from the eye test to the exam room. "I peeked at your chart. You're doing really well." Evidently the period of doubt is over and all signs are positive.

I told Dr. Hindman that I had learned something about myself throughout this process—that I'm a pessimist. I had been prepared for the worst. In reply she said that one thing she's learned about herself from doing eye surgery is that she's not in control. "We put everything in place, and then it's up to God or nature or whatever controls these things to do the rest," she said. Mostly it works and sometimes it doesn't, and "...you need a little luck."

I've been lucky. "The graft adheres," meaning that the donor tissue, the Descemet's membrane and the vital single layer of squamous epithelial cells that compose the endothelial layer, has attached itself firmly to my cornea in the proper place. I will wear glasses for the rest of my life—the intra-ocular implant doesn't have the perfect prescription, because "sometimes the shape of the cornea changes in ways we can't foresee"—but she said my uncorrected vision will likely be 20/40, legal to drive with uncorrected. My eyesight is still not great at this moment, but, according to the good doctor, my right eye will get better and better from now on, as my left eye continues to get worse. I'll have to have the same operation on the left eye eventually. 

I'm still curious about how it will affect my photography, and I still have more pondering to do over the remarkable fact that I'm now using part of another person's body in mine.

Both of those things are subjects for later, though, not for now.

Fred
After my appointment Xander and I went to a house museum officially called Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park, which is also in Canandaigua, the pleasant resort town where the Eye Care Center is located. Thursday was a beautiful, hot Summer day. Sonnenberg means "Sunny Hill" in German, and the estate is known more simply around here as Sonnenberg Gardens. It attracts 35,000 visitors a year, which is a lot in these parts—it's more than the year-round population of the county where I live. Sonnenberg Gardens consists of a 40-room, 21,000-square-foot Queen Anne style house on what used to be 200 acres of highly landscaped grounds, of which 50 remain. It was one of the five (count 'em) residences of a fellow named Frederick Ferris Thompson and his wife, Mary Clark Thompson, who also endowed the original F.F. Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua in his memory. Frederick was one of the founders of a bank that is now part of Citibank, and his original partners, his father and brother, departed to form their own bank, Chase National Bank, named for their friend, Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase. Their bank is now part of JP Morgan Chase. F.F. Thompson's house, with Mary in charge, was built at a frantic pace by more than 200 workers, some of them craftsmen from Italy, in 1885–87. The grounds and gardens, which were Mary's passion and are now the main attraction, evolved more slowly, from 1902 to 1919.

Fred

Evidently Mrs. Thompson was in charge of spending the couple's copious supply of money, and most of the tourist information in the home and gardens is about her. But, in addition to being ungodly rich, the man of the house (I'd call him Fred if we were out photographing and probably wouldn't even be allowed into his presence at the bank!) was one of us. A wall plaque described him as "an avid amateur photographer," and, in the only picture of him I noticed in the house, he is standing with an air of recognizably geeky pride behind an imposing view camera. A row of his cameras—decidedly modest compared to the rest of his life (maybe he was the frugal one of the pair?)—is presented atop a bookcase at the top of the stairs.

Fred's Century Grand Studio No. 7 8x10 portrait camera,
missing its included "cabinet holder" and "Semi-Centennial Stand."
It cost $72 in 1902 (~$2,144 today).

There were photographs on the walls here and there, but no notation as to whether they were his or not. This visitor would like to have known.

I'm half back
Anyway, I still have to be on half speed for a while, but I'm back. The comments to this post are open! Hallelujah. Yesterday was a good day all around.

Mike

P.S. I have no idea if Frederick F. Thompson was known as "Fred" or not. It's just that all us Photo-Dawgs are on a first-name basis here in the friendly club environs of TOP, no matter what our walk of life.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Dennis: "Welcome back ! A few years back, my family stopped at an ice cream shop. When we walked in, there was nobody at the counter, just a couple of teens in the back, but there was a box with a note on it that said 'Do Not Open.' My wife—the nosier, more curious of us—really wanted to open it. When we walked out with our ice creams, the teens followed us out—turns out they were students doing an experiment for a psychology class. They asked whether we wanted to open it and why we didn't. I replied that I just generally obey signs, but later realized that I respect signs/rules on private property much more than signs/rules on public property. Then you have the paper tickets you get when you enter raffles that say 'Keep This Coupon.' I kept one of those for over 20 years and nothing ever came of it. Good luck on the rest of your recovery!"

Joe Holmes: "Whew! Congratulations! Welcome back. Your pessimism isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you don't believe me, I highly recommend The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman. Makes a very good case for pessimism as a path to happiness. I also recommend Jim Holt's really wonderful book Why Does the World Exist, one of my favorite pop-philosophy books, which at points touches on similar topics. Anyway, as I said, welcome back! I missed you."

Steve Jacob: (partial comment): "I found cataract surgery affected my photography quite a lot. I stopped oversharpening and oversaturating images for one thing and I could calibrate my screen properly again. ;-) We don't really give much thought to the range of vision issues people have when they express preferences for one image, or camera, over another."

Mike replies: So true. We will really need to talk about this!

Comments

[CL Sumner]

Welcome back and good news! Take your time....do. As a new reader these three weeks have been a pleasant exercise in TOP history.

[Dave Karp]

Welcome back. Great news too. You were missed.

[John Krumm]

Very cool. Good to have you back and ready to go. Now grab the camera, your walking shoes, and see if that new eye works as well as the old one while looking through a viewfinder.

[Benoit Botton]

welcome back Mike.
So glad to read the whole thing went well and you are on a good path to recovery.
I expect we will read about your experience back into photography and look forward to it. Maybe it will be a breakthrough and you will become the Claude Monet of Photography ( different eye condition though)

Benoit
Bristol, UK

[Dogman]

Welcome back! And great news!

I enjoyed the walk down memory lane while you were gone but it's time for you to get back to work and give us some new words of wisdom.

Again, welcome back.

[Kenneth Tanaka]

That's excellent news, Mike! Welcome back to life.

[Jay Burleson]

Hallelujah! Good things happen to good (and patient) people, as demonstrated by this experience. Looking forward to seeing how your new eye captures the world of the Finger Lakes.

[Bob Keefer]

Welcome back!

[James]

Mike, Welcome back.
I am so happy for you. (And us out here in TOP-land)

[Michael Perini]

Welcome back.
I am genuinely happy for your wonderful news!

You should buy yourself a gift to celebrate.

[Moose]

"Hallelujah" indeed!

Especially for you, but also for us!

[KeithB]

Sounds a lot like the Huntington "Library" in Southern California, where Pinky and Blue Boy live. I did not notice a lot of photography there, though they have a large collection:

https://www.huntington.org/collections/photography

[David Lee]

I am so happy for you Mike. I’ve been reading you for so long, it’s like a morning paper to me. Take it easy and keep us posted please!

[Don Parsons]

Welcome back! Great news on the eye, I'm very happy for you.

[Rob Allen]

Fantastic news Mike; I’m pleased for you.

It’s fascinating that the effective price of an enthusiat’s camera hasn’t really changed in all these years!

[Ernest Zarate]

Best. News. Ever! (Well, at least in a long time.)

Thank you for the great reads of the past. Your voice was very evident in all of them, so in a way, it was like you were never gone. But it is, of course, terrific news, the best news, to know you are (soon) going to be back in your saddle!

[Mark Kinsman]

Welcome back and congratulations on the great news! Glad that Xander is able to be with you for this all important follow up with the doctor. Take your time getting back up to full speed, we’ll be here trying to pass the time with patience applied.

[Ernest Zarate]

By the way, I enjoyed the way Xander’s sleeve complimented the colors and patterns of the floor covering and instrument in Fred’s house.

[Jim Metzger]

I probably won't be the only one...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FscIgtDJFXg

"I can see clearly now" by Johnny Nash

Welcome back, we missed you.

Jim

[Marcelo Guarini]

I'm really happy you are back with a new lens that it'll be your preferred and most used lens. ;-)

[Thomas Rink]

Nice to have you back! Isn't it interesting, though, how our fears are often nothing but our imagination of the future?

Best, Thomas

[Patrick Dodds]

Ah, what a relief to have you back. Take it easy Mike and congrats on a successful operation.

[Benjamin Marks]

Sighs of relief. Thanks, Mike. A little good news goes a long way these days.

[Andrew Lamb]

Welcome back. Hope you're feeling well. Wishing you all the best. That's it. End of message!

[MikeR]

Yay!!!

[John Edinburgh]

Mike, glad you are back. I’ve been an on and off fan for a couple of years. The off part was due to political comments that I happen to disagree with made here on the blog. That’s history. The important thing is that your prognosis looks good, you seem to be in good spirits and that we can now again hope to see the world from your personal perspective. Welcome back.

[Mike Plews]

Congratulations!

[Robert Roaldi]

Bon courage, mon ami.

[Chester Williams]

Welcome back!

[Bahi]

So happy to read this. Congratulations!

[Martin D]

Dear Mike. I am so happy that all went well. Your selection of past pieces was wonderful: all of them very much alive and fresh, regardless of the original publication date. Your site has become such a powerful source of photographic reflection. For now, make sure not to overdo it --- stay away from the screen for a day if your eyes need some rest. Your readers won't walk away.

[Andrea B.]

Wonderful news! I'm so happy for you, Mike.

[Peter Wright]

Really glad that things have gone well for you! Take is easy though. No need to overdo things in the early stages.

[Bill La Via]

Welcome back; glads things went well with your surgical procedure. I’ve always felt that a “minor procedure” is one on someone else....I suspect you can appreciate that sentiment now that this one is in the rear view mirror and was successful.

[Roger Bradbury]

This was the good news I had been hoping and waiting for; I've been checking in frequently these last couple of days.

Now, as Buzz Lightyear often says, "To infinity and beyond!" : ]

[Jim in Denver]

Very good news to hear of your recovery! So glad to have you back.

[Dennis Mook]

Glad the surgery and rehabilitation turned as best it could and glad you are back!

[Mike Ferron]

Welcome back Mike. Glad to read you are making progress. I read a fair amount the old posts while you were healing. Have to say that one camera/one lens thing still tempts me even if I am 4-5 years late.

[Jeff]

Perfect, I needed some good news today!

[JOHN GILLOOLY]

Congratulations Mike - glad to hear things are going well!

[Cecelia]

So glad you are back!!

[Steve Jacob]

Congratulations Mike, good news indeed!

I find pessimism quite useful in medical situations. I always read the label, follow instructions, and don't push my luck. That way the outcomes tend to be successful ;-)

I found cataract surgery affected my photography quite a lot. I stopped oversharpening and oversaturating images for one thing and I could calibrate my screen properly again ;-)

We don't really give much thought to the range of vision issues people have when they express preferences for one image, or camera, over another.

[Geoffrey Meyer-van Voorthuijsen]

So glad to see you back, and that the surgery appears to be successful, as I have been anxiously checking the site every morning for news. Wish you a continued good recovery!

[scott kirkpatrick]

Wow! Time to exhale. How does the new spectrum of colors look to you?

[Mim]

Great news, welcome back!

[Rob L.]

Great to have you back! Very much enjoyed the countdown of images, although looking forward to the comment threads again.

[Henry Rogers]

All best wishes, Mike! Such a relief to hear your op worked as planned.

[Pritam Singh]

Very glad to have you back.
I wish you well.
...and wellness always!

[Peter Baglole]

Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out
Welcome back, to that same old place that you laughed about
Well the names have all changed since you hung around
But those dreams have remained and they've turned around
Who'd have thought they'd lead ya
(Who'd have thought they'd lead ya)
Back here where we need ya
(Back here where we need ya)
Yeah we tease him a lot 'cause we got him on the spot
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back, welcome back
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back

[Nick D]

Great news. The best blog in the photo world is back which is also great news! Pessimism is not so bad, it does after all mean that you are seldom disappointed!

[Not THAT Ross Cameron]

Congratulations, to you and the expert team wielding the scalpel.
Thanks for the posts you set up - very interesting reading for one who has found your site a few short years ago.
BTW, you might want to look up how that guitar auction went, in case you missed it :~)

[Gordon Lewis]

Welcome back in the saddle, Mike! It's probably better for you to start off at a trot instead of a gallop, but I'll continue to follow regardless. (Yeah, I know, as metaphors go they're on the clumsy side but at least I was careful not to mix them.)

[Mike Potter]

Wonderful news, Mike! Hoping your recovery continues apace.

[Christer]

Glad you're back and well.

I enjoyed reading the old posts when you were away.

Why don't you recycle your old post as a book? I would buy a copy.

[William OBrien]

Mike,
Welcome back, I missed you.
Canandaigua is a beautiful spot (indian name meaning chosen place).
Best way to get a really great view of the lake is to come up route 21, on the high road, not the one going by the west side of the lake. Bring your wide angle, middle of the afternoon is best time,IMO.

Bill

[David Comdico]

Being a pessimist myself I wasn't able to find adequate words during this ordeal, but now I can unburden myself with: Congratulations! I'm very pleased to know that the graft adheres.

[SteveW]

Marvelous news! So happy for you, ease into things as others have said, no need to peak out too soon. (smile)

[Scott Moore]

Welcome back! It was difficult for me to break a 10 year habit, so I'm glad I get to start it up again. So many positive and happy thoughts coming your way! Continue to take care of yourself, Mike. We like hanging around in this community you have created.

[James Bullard]

Congratulations. Your doctor is right about how healing works. I have long believed that the best the medical establishment can do is create the conditions for healing to occur and then it is up to your body. I am happy to hear that your body chose to take advantage of the conditions your surgery gave it.

[Rodolfo Canet]

Welcome back, Mike! As promised, we all here were waiting for you ;-)

[Roger Overall]

Mike, this really is marvellous news. We (your readers) have all ben thinking of you. Maybe even wanting to send you a note of encouragement, but not certain there was any point because your eyes were out of commission. Anyway, you are back and that is the sort of news that will put a gloss on our day, R

[Paulo Bizarro]

Good to know that all went well, I wish you a good recovery.

[Dave I.]

Mike,

"The news about my eye yesterday was as good as it could be. The glamorous young surgeon, . . . "

Nothing like an attractive young woman to help your eyesight! ;)

Thanks for the series of Top 10 photos you ran.

Congratulations on the good news about your eye and please resist the temptation to "catch up" with new posts.

("A post a day keeps the doctor away", or something to that effect.)

One post per day should be plenty.

Take care of your new eyesight and please be patient with the recovery. That may not be easy for you, but I believe you'll be up to the task.

If your eyes feel tired, take a break, even if you're below your allotted screen time for that day. Let your eyes determine the recovery time. Doctors can give a general estimate, but it's your body and you would, of course, know it best.

Good luck!

[Arg]

Every so glad to see you back, my friend (albeit one-sided).