Aging Gracefully…

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By Stacy Koruba

Multifocal contact lenses for presbyopia are a thing! Presbyopia is a natural part of the aging process in which the crystalline lens inside your eye becomes less flexible, causing you to loss the ability to focus on objects up close. I bought reading glasses over the past 10 years, dozens of pairs and as my vision declined, I just changed the prescription that I needed. There was not a time that I did not have at least a half dozen laying around, and there were more than few times I ransacked the entire house in search for a pair, while wearing another set on top of my head! While at my daughters last vision appointment I discovered that multifocal lenses have been around for at least five years and I have been oblivious! I had an eye exam, ordered a trail pair and was super excited at the thought of being able to finally see again! Man, I was not prepared for what lied ahead!

I wore glasses for nearsightedness for 25 years of my life. In 2003 I had Lasik surgery on both eyes and my vision was 20/20 for the next 15 years. I was happy with the outcome, even though I had a lot of glare with nighttime driving. I was told in advance that as I got older, I would have a need for reading glasses. In the beginning I only used them while reading the paper or a book but as I began spending more time on the computer and using a cell phone my needs grew. As I aged my ability to see things close decreased, to the point that I was not aware.

Fast forward to my “miraculous” return of vision with my new multifocal contact lenses! I picked them up about a week ago and immediately put them in after I left the office. Driving was a bit odd at first, since everything appeared closer than usual, but my eyes quickly adjusted. I found it easy to read the map on my cell phone without having to use glasses and I was hooked on the things! When I got home, I could see my computer screen perfectly. My eyes were a bit strained quickly and dry, but these were all things I knew I could get used to after normal wear. I was happy that I had discovered this option that was available to me and a little upset that I had avoided going to the eye doctor for so long because I would have found them sooner.

I put them in the following morning, excited that I would be able to put my makeup on while actually being able to see my face, in the past it was a task because I would have to take the reading glasses on and off over and over again and there was never a great way to tweeze my eye brows or apply eye makeup. I plopped those suckers in, excited and ready for a brand in day! N O T H I N G could have prepared me for what I was about to discover over the next hour! I turned on the water, got in the shower, closed my eyes and put my head back like I always do. Lathered up what little hair I do have and just relaxed while letting the soap and water do its thing on my head and run off onto my back and chest. I looked down, splashing myself with the water, then I took the shower head off the wall and sprayed it right over my chest to get the soapy bubbles off. I Opened my eyes and looked down and saw a spot on me and ran the water off and its not coming off, ran my hand over it and no, it is still not coming off. Use my finger to remove it and then think W T F is this?? I can see now because of these damn contacts – and….I have a HAIR. I have a hair that is like 3 inches long and it is coming out of my BOOB. I swear the first thing I did was scream and then I yanked it out and threw in on the floor of the tub and then I stomped on it and washed it down the drain. I then looked out the shower curtain to make sure no one had seen that.

After I was certain I was alone I hide in the corner with my back to the door and I examined every inch of my entire body with my “new” eyes and holy moly, let me tell you, things had really changed over the last 10 years since this presbyopia aging process went into effect! I use a hand mirror while doing a full body search and found a few other stray hairs on my chin. My new eyes exposed wrinkles in spots I was not even aware existed!! I had more gray hairs on my head than brown, how in the hell was I not notified of this? Aren’t family and friends obligated to tell you when there are changes taking place?

I forced myself out of the warzone and decided to apply makeup. Makeup would certainly help! So now I get to the part where I see that soft baby fine hair has taken up space ALL over my face, it is as if my face has turned into a fuzzy peach! That was not like this 10 years ago! My husband or child planted a peace farm on my face and neglected to tell me. At the same time my eyebrows have become sparse in some sections. They have decided to hide in some parts, like they are playing hide in seek from the peach fuzz! Other dark hairs are overgrown and taking over and have started to form into a unibrow that I goofily ignored – thanks presbyopia! My teeth seem longer, my upper lip seems thinner and my nose seems larger. I take notice of all these changes, wondering if this is how I have always looked and never noticed because of my vision or if I am seeing things in some fun house mirror now.

In the past I would have been freaked the F out. I would have been a panicked mess. I can see myself crying before, over-reacting and worrying about what everyone else was going to think about me. Worried for all the wrong reasons. That day I just put on some makeup and thought, “you my friend, are aging. Aging gracefully.” Those grays and wrinkles are what happened after a few tough years dealing with a sibling’s death and a huge amount of personal growth and a shit ton of turmoil in this country. The other things that I noticed are all part of the aging process and while they may be shocking to discover, they are all a part of life and being human. I had no idea that hormonal changes cause us to grow hair in places we never would imagine! Lucky for me that I got some new contacts before I was tripping on that nipple hair in a few years! Now I can see what my eyebrows actually look like and pluck them! This is life. This is nothing to worry about.

What we do have to worry about is COVID-19, and the state of our country and the amount of people in it that think that everything wrong with it is actually right. We must worry about people suffering, people that are going without, people that are hungry. We must help those that we can and build each other up and be the warriors and try to make a change for the better in this world. We must make things beautiful where we can, even if it means plucking out a few stray hairs along the way.

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