The implant is done. That's what cataract surgery is--a new lens is implanted.

The procedure takes ten minutes, give or take a few seconds and there is no pain or discomfort.

I lay on a narrow gurney in the corridor when the surgeon came out to greet me and quickly squirted drops in my eye; this was the anaesthetic.

They wheeled me into the procedure room and kept me on my stretcher.

A white plastic material was taped to my face, exposing only my left eye and a sedative was injected into the i.v. in my arm.

Here's where the magic comes in--the light shining over my face is what I stare at--that's my job--stare at the light and don't move. And not once do I feel the urge to shrink away from what might be happening.

I don't feel or hear anything that makes me queasy and the surgeon tells me the basics as he works. It's a cheerful room and everyone seems relaxed.

I am never conscious of any instrument or anyone touching my eye, just some liquid poured in few times.

For a few seconds the pink/white light turned sky blue in the center and that was when the surgeon asked for the new lens.

I remember thinking, "wow--he removed my lens from my eye."

Then there was an electric buzzing sound and I decided he must be fastening in the lens.

Done.

I was wearing a see-through patch and out of there and back in the car in less than half an hour and requesting some drive-through food.

If you look closely at the picture (and I'm a good sport for showing it to you) you'll note that my left pupil is still fully dilated.

The only after-effects were a feeling of a scratchy left eye and the first set of drops I applied felt like salt on a raw wound, but only for a second or two.

So that's it. All the cloudy nuisances are gone from the eye and now I can look forward to having the other eye done soon.