Florence Henderson Discusses Her Cataract Surgery

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Actress Florence Henderson describes her Crystalens® procedure, which corrects cataracts and vision problems, and shares her newest theater and business projects.

Todd Hartley:
Hi and thank you for joining us at EmpowHER where we improve health and change lives. Let’s talk about cataracts, a clouding in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope eventually causing vision loss or blinding if untreated. Now actress Florence Henderson, she selected Crystalens®, the only FDA approved, accommodating intraocular lens (IOL) for her cataract surgery and to share her story, well I’m joined right now by my favorite TV mom of all time, Hi Florence!

Florence Henderson:
Hi Todd, how are you?

Todd Hartley:
Great, it’s nice to have you here on EmpowHER and everyone who lives long enough Florence, as you know, will eventually develop cataract. Do you remember the moment you noticed something just wasn’t right with your vision?

Florence Henderson:
Well, yes, I started noticing you know, trouble seeing street signs and then more difficulty reading and getting onto the freeway and seeing signs where I had to exit, you know things like that and the colors were not as bright and things you see you know, they just get more and more blurry.

Todd Hartley:
Right, now Florence because he wore glasses, I would have put money on Cousin Oliver having vision problems before you.

Florence Henderson:
Well, poor Cousin Oliver, but you know it’s like, well I think anybody after 39, you know, I always encourage people, I love the word that you have – EmpowHER, because that’s always my goal in life is to empower, inspire and make life easier for older adults, but everybody should really take good care of their eyes. The exciting thing is that there are always so many new things being done for vision.

Todd Hartley:
Oh yeah, it’s an exciting field! How long did it take for you to live with your cataracts before you had surgery?

Florence Henderson:
Well because I worked so much and I traveled so much you know, you kind of put those things off, but then you get to the point where it’s just uncomfortable, it can give you headaches. You know, it’s just not a good thing to live with and I would say…

Todd Hartley:
It’s a tough thing to live with, especially as you were saying working and knowing that your vision is deteriorating, it’s got to be a difficult process but cataract surgery is one of the most common surgeries in the world and you had cataract vision correction with Crystalens®. What was that procedure like?

Florence Henderson:
It was so easy, I can’t even begin to tell you, Dr. Khodabakhsh was my surgeon and you know, you just lie down and they ask you to hold your head very still and I’m a very good patient and it was very simple, very quick and the great thing is, is that with the Crystalens® I could see immediately, and it’s just a big thrill and it keeps improving all the time. And the great thing about it, which the older lens did not do, it allows you to see distance, intermediate, and you can read with it. It’s really, I send so many people to Dr. Khodabakhsh because I am so thrilled with it.

Todd Hartley:
It sounds like the procedure that you had with Crystalens® is not only a cataract procedure but it’s also a corrective vision procedure.

Florence Henderson:
Yes, as I understand it Todd, and I’m not quite sure about this, but some people who have just horrible vision and LASIK hasn’t worked for them, or they’re opting to replace the lens with the Crystalens®, which allows them greater vision, and with the Crystalens® you know, everything is sharper, colors are brighter. It’s just a gift.

Todd Hartley:
Yeah it sounds like it was. What was the pain like?

Florence Henderson:
I didn’t experience any pain. You know, you use drops after, which is no big deal, but I don’t know if people, other people experienced discomfort; I did not. You know, you might feel a little redness in the eye or a little irritation, but it was so minor. I wasn’t even aware of it, to be honest with you.

Todd Hartley:
And after surgery your vision improved? Did you have any haloes or glares when you looked at bright objects?

Florence Henderson:
I don’t know. I certainly did before though I can tell you. No, I drive at night and in Los Angeles we have to drive everywhere, miles and miles, and so no, I drive at night and it’s such a pleasure.

Todd Hartley:
Tell me what you are working on now? What kind of projects you got going on?

Florence Henderson:
Well, you know I do my one-woman show; it’s called “All the Lives of Me”. I have been doing that all over the country. I was in New York, I was in Indianapolis, Sin City, I did, yeah a lot of different places and I love doing that. I have also formed a company called FLOH, which our goal is to make, as I said before, make living easier, simpler, and better for older adults and trying to inspire people to be active, to be interested in life and be interesting, and I am just loving it and from that came the FLOH Club and the FLOH Club is a company that we have started, it’s kind of like roadside assistance for your computer.

Todd Hartley:
Oh, what a great idea!

Florence Henderson:
Yeah, we have all North American-based people who will help you be very patient, very kind and with your permission, take over your computer for you and fix problems. They teach you, most any problems that you would have with a computer they can help you with and for me, I was always terrified of technology and that’s how this came about because I was approached through my FLOH company by these young gentlemen. I said, “Look, I have a cell phone here that does all these things and I can’t work it,” and within a few minutes he had me texting and getting my email and it was so exciting and I said, “Well, alright, I’ll try,” and so then I attacked the computer and now I can email; I Skype with my kids that live in L.A. It’s just really terrific.

Todd Hartley:
You know you just did, you did what my sister pretty much identified this when she said, “I don’t want to get an iPhone because then I’ll become mom’s full-time iPhone assistant.”

Florence Henderson:
I know; that’s what happened.

Todd Hartley:
And this mom in particular, always said, “Don’t play ball in the house”. She is the lovable Florence Henderson and if you’d like to find out more about cataract vision correct with Crystalens® visit Crystalens.com. Florence Henderson, thank you so much for helping us advocate for women.

Florence Henderson:
Oh thank you Todd. It’s one of my favorite things to do.

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