I can see clearly now with glasses on...

The last month has been eventful.  After Sean had teased and taunted me about my poor vision, I decided I'd go get an eye exam to prove him wrong.  As we were waiting, a salesperson said, "are you interested in glasses or contacts today?" 
I promptly replied, "neither.  I'm just getting my eyes checked." 

After several annoying procedures, they sent me in to see the optometrist.  I sat down in a funky looking chair with a weird contraption set in front of my  face.  Fifteen feet in front of me was letters projected on the wall.  Looking through the handy contraption, the doctor kept asking me which slides were blurry or clear.  After he was finished he said, "ok, read the letters on the wall."

Showing off, I zipped through every single letter thinking, "C'mon, my eyes are perfect.  I can see just fine."  Then the doctor pulled the contraption away from my face and asked me to read the letters again.  My jaw dropped.  I literally could barely report the first line.  Again, the contraption was set in front of my face and I could see perfectly. 

I asked with a disappointed voice, "does this mean I need glasses?"  The optometrist laughed and said, "only if you want to see the leaves on the trees, faces on people, and be safe when you are driving."
So I picked out my first pair of glasses...and these are the ones I chose.

During the last month I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing everything pristine and clear.  I can recognize faces.  I can read signs.  And the world is beautiful.  It has given me two things I continue to think about. 

1) It is amazing how so often we believe we can already see "perfectly" when in reality things are skewed and blurry. It is a reminder to me that I need constant correction.  And when revision is made, life increases in beauty. 

2) I have thought mostly about my nephew, Kody.  We learned last month that our three-month-year-old miracle is blind.  He has a rare condition called Leber's congenital amaurosis (LCA).  His optic nerves do not function.  No surgery or glasses will ever help him see.  Each time I hold him I feel a strong sense of gratitude that I have the ability to see.  I am so grateful that I have functioning eyes to see and ears to hear. 

However, even without eyes to see, blind people can still do extraordinary things.  More extraordinary then people with perfect vision.

I love the story of Erik Weihenmayer.  He is a man who went blind at the age of 13, but chose to triumph in his loss.  Today, he is one of only 100 to climb the seven tallest peaks in the world including Mt. Everest.  1 in 10 people who attempt to climb Mt. Everest die.  If you can imagine, Mt. Everest reaches nearly five and a half miles (8.85 km) into the sky.  Temperatures can get as low as -76 degrees Fahrenheit.  And the oxygen levels are 1/3 of what we breathe.  Studies have shown that blood oxygen saturations decrease down to 84% at base camp (and that is just the beginning).  Once a climber reaches the last leg to the summit, they will breathe over 90 breaths per minute to survive (normal respirations are 12-20 breaths per minute).  And yet with all these facts, a man who could only see hope, reached the top.

"We all have a lot of goals out here, ambitious goals that keep us busy. But in my life there's been something more important than a goal, what I call a vision." -Erik Weihenmayer

I am amazed at how much a blind man can see.

 

(I think my blog posts turn out to always explain a type of epiphany that I've had.  So I'm sorry if I bore you readers or make you feel like you are receiving a lecture.)