The Bionic Grandstander

Interesting headline, isn't it?

It all began back in January, 2024 when I received an partial knee replacement.  However, that's not really a big deal because if those of you reading this haven't had a knee or hip replacement by now, you surely know someone who has.

Then, in March, 2025, I was fitted with hearing aides.  While this has certainly improved the quality of my life (not to mention Linda's quality of life since she no longer has to shout at me to be heard, but also no longer has to sit in a room with the TV set turned up REALLY LOUD), again, it is not that big a deal, since hearing aides have been around forever, right?

What really turned me into Lee Majors (for you kids out there who don't get the reference, Google "six million dollar man") was a transformation that began last December.  

At that time, I went to my opthamalogist, Dr. David DeMarco at the Eye Physicians and Surgeons practice in Wexford, PA with the thought in my mind that I was in need of a stronger prescription and needed new eyeglasses.  Instead, Dr. Dave said that the time had come for us to address the cataracts that he had been keeping track of for several years, and he turned me over to one of his partners in the practice, eye surgeon Dr. Judah Beck.  Okay, I've known a ton of people who've had cataract surgery, so, again, no big deal, right?

What Dr. Beck proceeded to tell me though, was a new breakthrough in the treatment of cataracts, and he suggested that I was a good candidate for it.  It consisted of removing the cataracts, of course, and then implanting in my eye something called a Light Adjustable Lens (LAL).  With this newly approved lens - it has only been being done in Pittsburgh since 2024, and only by Eye Physicians and Surgeons (I think) - the doctor would be able to adjust the lens after it had been implanted in my eyes by using ultra-violet light.

So, in June (the process of implanting the lenses was delayed for another medical reason that I will not go into here), Dr. Beck performed the surgery and implanted the lenses in my eyes.  There then followed a period of several weeks where I had to follow a strict regimen of eyedrops, but I immediately noticed a difference in my vision.  Trees outside our bedroom window that only appeared as green blobs to me when I awoke in the morning now had thousands of individual leaves that I could discern.  I could watch TV, go to PNC Park and read the scoreboard, and follow a struck golf ball in flight and find it in the fairway, or, more likely, the rough, all without glasses.

After the eye drop course of treatment was completed, I went back to Dr. DeMarco who would give me a regular eye exam ("is it better with 1, or 2", "how many fingers am I holding up", "what line on the chart can you read") to determine a new "prescription" and then turn me over to Dr. Beck, who would shine the ultra-violet light machine into my eyes to adjust the new Light Adjustable Lens.  After two such adjustment, he was able to do a "lock in" adjustment to the new lenses, and I am now seeing 20/20.  

When I have told people about this process, I have used the phrase "It's like something out of a science fiction novel", and so it is.

And here I am today, the guy who has worn glasses since he was in the third grade:

That picture was taken two weeks ago at a Pitt football game at Acrisure Stadium, where I could follow all the action without glasses!

Full disclosure: I still need to use "readers" or "cheaters" with a 1x magnification to read a newspaper or real tiny print on, say, a medicine bottle, but I'm good with that given all that the LAL has done for me otherwise.  I can read a printed book, my Kindle and iPad, and I have typed this post on my iMac desktop without the aid of the "cheaters".

More full disclosure:  The cost of the LAL is not covered by insurance or Medicare, and they are not inexpensive.  I am blessed that I am able to pay for them, and considering the benefit that I have received - 20/20 vision -  it turns out to have been a small price to pay.

I will be happy to talk to anyone about all of this if you are interested, and I absolutely cannot say enough about the care and treatment that I received from Drs. Demarco and Beck and the entire staff at Eye Physicians and Surgeons.