The Eyes Don’t Have It

I did not deal with the most common question in the recent feedback post: "How is the vision these day?"
The answer is "not too good."
I have not significantly lost vision in a sweeping sense since January, but it is clear that the retina reattachment procedure was not successful. To make my feelings as clear as I can, I do not blame the eye doctor for that. She warned me in my second-ever visit to her that I had the most complicated set of eye problems she had ever seen, and when moving towards the surgery she communicated clearly on what expectation would be realistic and what side effects could be expected.
The surgery improved things. The fog in my vision had been gray before the surgery and was clearer afterwards. The vitreous gel drainage took out a lot of the floaters and lasting debris of the vitreous hemorrhage and the smaller and non-vitreous hemorrhages that occurred fairly regularly after the PRP laser procedures.
I still cannot see close up due to the lack of choice in cataract lense. My obstacle for mid range and distance vision is often light adjustment. Even looking along a smooth surface between a sunny area and a shaded one requires readjustment. I have to stop and be sure of what I am looking at, that the line of transition is indeed just shadow and not a curb or step that might make me stumble. Moving between rooms with different lighting requires adjustment. I can see well in neither dark nor brightly lit areas, but when in the same environment for a while I do adjust enough to get myself around.
With the "cleaner" fog in my eye, I can see color better close up. I can’t see the TV too well and scene changes that have different camera lighting also blind me. Usually I just listen to the TV with my eyes closed. The TV does not find this disconcerting, though people do.
My "finger test" as given by my doctor’s assistants ranged from about a foot and a half to four feet, depending on light and my adjustment to it.
My roommate gives the finger test, usually after I’ve said something I find funny. He asks, "How many fingers am I holding up?" and my answer is always "My guess is one."
I’m doing my best to cope, and would be doing better if the eye problems were the limits to what I have to deal with.