Mine are only for distance as well, but they gave me the choice between distance and close-range. They didn't use a laser on me though - it was the good old-fashioned scalpel for me.
When they replaced the right lens, I saw brilliant patterns in red and orange during the procedure. When they replaced the left lens, I saw nothing but blurry blobs of white light. It was fascinating.
The doctor said that I had the most aggressive type of cataracts (apparently there are three types) - it looked like I was seeing the world through a piece of wax paper and driving was all but impossible for a few weeks.
Like I mentioned above, mine were just one week apart (January 30th and February 6th), but you father might have a different type than I did. I'm by no means an expert just because I went through it. He has absolutely nothing to be nervous about - the operation only takes around 7-8 minutes.