Through The Eyes of a Stranger

           William had been driving home from a friend’s cottage after celebrating his twenty-first birthday weekend. The whole weekend had been filled with drinking, dancing, and more drinking. His blue eyes were surrounded by red veins. He was still inebriated when he got behind the wheel on Sunday evening, but insisted to his friends that he was fine to drive. He wasn’t.

           William was heading along a winding path on Henderson Road when the lights from passing vehicles began to disorient him. He developed double-vision and his eyelids became very heavy. The last thing he remembers was a bright light and the sound of a horn.

           When William awoke in the hospital bed, everything was dark. He could hear the voices of people in the room with him, but he could not see anyone. He reached up, grasping at the bandages that were wrapped around his eyes, when a strong hand grabbed onto his arm and pulled his hand away saying, “It’s okay, William. I can explain.”

           “Who are you?” William asked the voice in the darkness. “What is going on?”

           “I am Doctor Leibowitz, a surgeon Mercy General Hospital. You were in an accident, William. There was severe trauma to your face when your car collided with a transport truck last night. We had to perform surgery to both of your eyes, but I am afraid the damage was too severe. We could not reattach your cornea and there was major nerve damage from the shards of glass that shattered into your eyes. I am sorry William, but you are going to be blind.”

           After a few moments absorbing this unexpected news, William shouted, “No! No! No! This can’t be real. I can’t be blind. There has to be a way for me to get my sight back, right?”

           “The only alternative at this point is a transplant. If we can find a matching donor, then it is possible to regain your sight, but it is not a guarantee,” Doctor Liebowitz said.

           “Let’s do it then! Find me new eyes. I can’t go through life in the dark like this. I just can’t!”

           “We can put you in the system and search for a donor. It normally takes only a week or so to find one.”

           “Great,” William replied excitedly. “The sooner, the better.”

           Over the next few days, William had to be assisted with his normal daily routine. Everything from eating to using the toilet suddenly became a challenge. He started to notice an enhancement to his other senses as well once the panic of his sudden blindness began to subside. He could tell when someone entered his room by the sound of their footsteps or the smell of their body spray.

           William was visited by a police officer during his third day in the hospital. He said his name was Corporal Casey and he was investigating the accident that William was involved in.

           “What can you tell me about the accident, William?” the corporal asked.

           “Not much, really. I was driving home from my buddy’s cottage and the next thing I know; this guy is blowing his horn. Then I woke up here.”

           “What were you doing at the cottage, William?”

           “I was there with all my friends celebrating my birthday.”

           “Did you have anything to drink before you left the cottage?”

           “I only drank like two beers,” William lied.

           The officer paused and flipped through his notes.

           “According to the toxicology report at the time of your arrival here at the hospital, your blood-alcohol level was three times that of the legal level. Are you sure you only had two beers, William?”

           “I don’t remember. Maybe it was three or four.”

           “William, considering your current condition, I am going to refrain from placing you under arrest for Driving while intoxicated, but once you are released, you will have to answer for your crimes.”

           William sat silently. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Beads of sweat began to trickle down across his brow.

           “I will be in touch, William,” the officer said before exiting the room.

           On the fifth day, the doctor returned with some news for William.

           “I have something to tell you, William. We have a donor who passed away recently. We can proceed with the corneal transplant as early as tomorrow morning. How does that sound?”

           William was overjoyed and said, “I think I can schedule that into my busy schedule.”

           He couldn’t tell if his attempt at sarcasm caused the doctor to smile or not. Instead, the doctor replied in a serious tone, “Great. I will make the arrangements for 8:30 AM,” then he left the room.

           William’s favorite nurse, Lisa, came into his room soon after to check his vitals. He made a point of flirting with her every chance he had.

           “Hey, William. How are you feeling today?” she asked.

           “I always feel better when you show up, Lisa.”

           “Awe, you are just too sweet,” Lisa replied. “It looks like everything is normal, though your heart rate is slightly elevated.”

           “You do have a way of making my heart beat faster, Lisa.”

           “Well, maybe I should stop coming in then. I wouldn’t want you to have a heart attack because of me,” Lisa responded.

           “I don’t want to be held responsible for you causing another patient to suffer either, so maybe you should just stay with me,” he said with a half-cocked smile upon his face.

           “That is very considerate of you, William. I guess I better get going though. I will check in on you again in a bit, okay?”

           “Okay, I will be watching…I mean, listening for you, Lisa.”

           The nurse patted him on the foot and said goodbye. Her scent lingered in the room for several minutes following her departure.

           The rest of the day, William was growing restless. He desperately wanted to have his surgery so he could see again. He barely slept a wink all night, so when it was time to put him under for his surgery, it took very little effort on the part of the anesthesiologist.

           When he awoke in recovery, he was under the impression that he would instantly be able to see, so he was disappointed to find the bandages still wrapped around his eyes. He was transferred back to his room and was surprised to hear his mother’s voice.

           “William, according to the doctor, your surgery went well. It was a successful transplant. He said that your bandages will need to stay on for another day, then you can wear an eye shield over your eyes when we take you home. He said that you should lay down frequently as well because of an air bubble that is holding the transplant in place. It will correct itself within three days.”

           “I have something to tell you guys,” William said with a sombre tone.

           “What is it, son?” his father asked.

           “I had a police officer come by the other day. He said that I am going to be facing charges when I get released.”

           “We already talked to Officer Casey, William. We know all about it,” his father stated. “I just hope you’ve learned your lesson.”

           “Yes, dad. It took me going blind to open my eyes and finally see where my life was headed.”

           “I’m glad to hear it, son. We convinced officer Casey to wait until you regained your sight.”

           Doctor Leibowitz entered the room.

           “Ahh, welcome back, William. As I told your parents, the surgery went very well. I should be able to release you by tomorrow, but there are certain rules you will need to follow once you leave here.

1.     Do not rub your eyes.

2.     Over the next few weeks, avoid any strenuous activity and no heavy lifting.

3.     If your job does not require physical strain, then you can return to work in two to three weeks.

4.     If your job requires manual labour, then I do not recommend you returning for another three to four months.

5.     You need to avoid smoky or dusty areas that could irritate your eyes.

6.     If you find that your eyes are sensitive to light, you can wear sunglasses.

7.     Avoid contact sports and swimming until myself or your family physician clears you to do so.

8.     When bathing or showering, try to avoid getting water into your eyes for at least the next month. You can wear swimmers’ goggles if you wish.

9.     Do not attempt to drive until I give you the okay to do so.

Do you understand everything I said?”

“Yes, I understand,” William said.

“Good. I will provide you with a print-out of all the information as well.”

The next morning when William’s parents arrived to pick him up, the nurse came in with his release papers and a prescription for steroid drops that William had to use for the next several months to prevent swelling and infection.

Over the next several weeks, William’s sight began to slowly return. It was blurry at first, but slowly became clearer. When he looked into a mirror for the first time with clear vision, he noticed that his new eyes were brown instead of blue. While napping one afternoon, William had a terribly disturbing dream.

He found himself in a battle, surrounded by soldiers. He was running with them, gun in-hand. It seemed to be somewhere in the Middle East. He wasn’t sure where though. They were chasing after a group of men dressed in white dress-like tops that hung down to their knees. They were embroidered with gold-colored stitching. Under the dress, the men wore baggy white pants and hand-stitched leather sandals. Each had a thick, black beard; some with hints of grey in spots, and turbans upon their heads.

Each of the men carried a weapon and would stop frequently to fire back at William and the soldiers. It all seemed so real to him. He could have sworn that he could feel the heat of the sun upon his face. As a bullet grazed by William’s left ear, he woke up, dripping in sweat. His heart was racing.

After a drink of water and a walk around the block, he began to feel better, but he could not forget his dream.

William returned to the hospital to meet with Doctor Leibowitz. He filled him in on the steps that he had been taking and the progress that he had made. The doctor was pleased to hear that all was going so well. As they spoke, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Doctor Leibowitz called out.

A plump young nurse around twenty-five years of age walked in. She had red hair pulled back in a ponytail and freckles upon her chubby cheeks. She looked at William and smiled.

“William! It’s good to see you again!” the nurse exclaimed.

William had no idea who this woman was, but he assumed she was one of his nurses during his stay there.

“What is it, Lisa?” the doctor asked.

William spoke up. “Lisa? Are you the same Lisa that I had as a nurse?”

“One-in-the-same, William.”

William was shocked at her appearance. He had pictured a petite blonde with big, blue eyes and pouty lips. Regardless, he thought that he should say something to her, but before he had the chance, Doctor Leibowitz interrupted.

“Was there something you needed to see me about, Lisa?”

“Oh, yes, sorry sir. I wanted to let you know that Miss Littlefield in room 412 is asking to speak with you.”

“Thank you, Lisa. Can you please shut the door behind you on your way out?”

“Yes, doctor.”

Lisa glanced at William once more giving him a wink as she passed.

Later that week, while taking his daily walk, William heard a jackhammer pounding away at the asphalt road. Suddenly, he was back in the Middle East. The men with the beards, which one of the soldiers identified as Taliban soldiers, were firing high-caliber rifles in William’s direction again. One of the soldiers jumped out from behind the wall that protected him from the gunfire, and he began firing back at the Taliban soldiers. Moments later, William felt the warmth of the soldier’s blood splatter into his eyes as several bullets pierced the soldier’s neck, striking his jugular vein.

William heard his name being called, but it sounded like it was coming from far away. He felt a hand grab him from behind and turn him around. As he spun, William was brought back to reality and was face-to-face with his father.

“Are you okay, William? Are you having trouble with your sight?”

“Sorry, dad. Something strange just happened to me.”

William told his father about the dream he had previously that he had just chalked up as a bad dream, and now this similar dream that he had while he was awake. His father looked at him as if he thought William was going crazy. He took William by the hands and told him to let him know if anything like this ever happens again. William agreed and they went back home.

A few more weeks had passed without incident. William was finally beginning to feel normal again. His eyes were adapting to his everyday lifestyle, though they remained sensitive to light.

William decided to stroll through the park one evening. He found a park bench and had a seat. Reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket, William came out with a brown paper bag. He reached into the bag and pulled out a handful of birdseed which he tossed in front of the bench by his feet. It was the fourth of July, and the park was filled with people wearing patriotic colors. In the distance, William spotted a group of teenagers. One of them set a row of fireworks on the ground and lit the wick. Moments later, streams of colored lights filled the sky, bursting like glowing flowers above his head. Then it happened again.

William was back in the war zone. Bombs were bursting all around as clouds of dust and smoke polluted his lungs and burned his eyes. William felt disoriented. He searched desperately for one of the soldiers, but the smoke was too thick. It was terrifying. His heart began to beat hard within his chest as he started to panic. That is when he heard a woman’s voice.

“Would it be okay if I joined you?” the voice asked.

He was back in the park and an elderly woman resting on a cane was standing beside him as she repeated her question.

“Yes, sorry. Of course. Have a seat,” he said.

William, still distraught from his recent vision, stood up and excused himself. He headed back home to tell his dad about his dream. He explained what was happening each time that these visions had occurred and determined that it was those loud noises that were triggering these vivid images. The next morning, William scheduled an appointment with Doctor Leibowitz.

During their meeting, William explained in detail what had happened before and during the dreams. The doctor sat and pondered the possibilities. He stood up and wandered over to the filing cabinet where he took out the folder containing the information about William’s surgery. Within the pages was the name of the donor and his cause of death. It turned out the man had been fighting the war in Afghanistan when he was killed in action.

Doctor Leibowitz explained to William and his father that there had been a few rare cases where the recipients of corneal transplants from donors who had died suddenly and tragically, had inherited the last few moments of that person’s life. They could see in vivid detail about the people the deceased were with, the environment around them, and in some cases, the means of how they died.

William’s father found it hard to believe, but William was convinced that he was one of these rare cases. At least now, he knew that he wasn’t going crazy.

A few nights had passed, and William had just dozed off to sleep. It was a cool night, so he had left his window propped open to get some fresh air. In the distance of his mind, he heard a car sputtering down the street. As it drove by the house, the exhaust on the car backfired. Once again, William found himself in Afghanistan. He and the soldiers had made progress, though their numbers were decreasing drastically. At this rate, they would not be able to hold off the attacks for much longer.

Now that William knew what was happening, instead of fearing the vision, he embraced it. He leaned over behind the M2 Browning 50 caliber machine gun that rested upon a dirt mound left by an artillery shell, and he began to fire. One-by-one, the Taliban soldiers began to fall. He felt invigorated. Then, one of his soldiers yelled out three terrifying letters; “RPG!”

William looked up to see a rocket-propelled grenade zooming toward him at high speed. He had no time to react before it landed in the trench behind him. The explosion launched him forward, throwing him out of the crater and onto the ground six feet away. Pain rushed through his body. He felt paralyzed, unable to move any body parts. His fellow soldiers rushed to his aid and dragged him behind building. As the they held his shoulders, William looked down to see that the bottom half of his torso was missing along with his left arm. Blood spewed out in masses until everything faded to black.

William never opened his eyes again.