Charles' New World

Charles was EXCTIED! He had just gotten the call that the cornea transplant surgery for his eyes would be scheduled in the next week. Ever since he had fallen off that horse and injured his eyes a few years ago, he hadn’t been able to see. His Doctor had put him on the transplant list for new corneas, but so far, none had arrived; until today. He had “memories” of being outside and enjoying the hiking trails in the area, and had felt the sun on his face, the past few years. But, that’s ALL he had! He hadn’t been able to see anything since his accident and the doctors hadn’t been sure if he would ever be sure if he would be able to see again. But, then he went to a Specialist, who ran some tests and discovered that the Cornea transplant surgery would work for him. So, it had gotten Charles *hopeful* that he would see again. That, had been two years ago, and it had been a l o n g two years, and he had almost given up *hope* at ever seeing again, and figured he’s be blind for the rest of his life. But then, this call had come through, and his WHOLE day had *brightened* in an INSTANT! The surgery was scheduled for the following Thursday, and he could hardly wait!!

      He didn’t know HOW he got through the next few days at his job at Goodwill, but somehow, the day of surgery arrived with great anticipation. His Aunt Carol took him in and it took almost 4 hours before they were done. By the time his Aunt came to see him in the recovery room, He was just waking up, and his eyes felt abit sore. But, other than that, he felt fine. He heard the Doctor tell his Aunt Carol that he’d be in the recovery room for abit, and he could go home in about an hour or so, as long as he felt up to it. He had patches on both eyes, and he was having some pain. The Doctor said he had to wear sunglasses so dust and other stuff wouldn’t get in his eyes and wouldn’t get infected. The Doctor said his vision would return, but it would be blurry, until his eyes got used to their new corneas. He could return back to work in a week, if he felt up to it, but not overdue it. His Aunt Carol said she wanted to keep him home for at least 2 weeks, to see how he was adjusting, before she sent him back to work. There was so much to remember, but he knew his Aunt Carol wouldn’t let him “forget”-she had a mind like a “steel-trap”!

      By the time he got home, Charles’ min was “swimming” with all the information the Doctor had told him, and he knew he’d have a hard time “remembering” it all. But, he also knew that Aunt Carol would help take care of him until he could see; and that made him feel better. He wished he could see something, NOW, but the Doctor said it would probably be a few weeks until he could start to see anything clearly. He figured since he had waited over 2 years, then another few weeks wouldn’t be that bad. WHO was he kidding? Of course they would! But, with his Aunt Carol and cousins to help “distract” him, the next few weeks, should just fly by! He hoped!! He was hungry, so he rang the bell his Aunt Carol had given him and she came running and asked him what was wrong. After he assured he was fine, and that he was just hungry, she breathed a sigh of relief. She went downstairs and came back up a few minutes later, with some chicken noodle soup and some juice and bread. He tried the soup, and it tasted so good! It was then he realized he hadn’t eaten anything for the past almost 26 hours and he was starving! The soup, and bread, and piece of apple pie that his Aunt Carol brought up, really hit the spot. And, he settled back under the covers to rest. He figured it must have been “earlier” than when he normally fell asleep, because he just couldn’t seem to rest, yet. So, he turned on the radio by his bed, and listened to a baseball game and then the evening news. When his Aunt Carol came up, she turned it off, and told him it was after 11pm, and said to try and get some rest. So, he rolled over and tried to get some rest. This time, he was able to relax, and get some rest, because his Aunt had given him some pain medicine, and it was starting to kick in, and before he knew it, he felt the rays of sunshine on his face and knew it was morning. He started to bounce out of bed, excited to go downstairs, and see how the day, but, he was abit groggy from the pain medicine, and had to sit back down for a few minutes. His Aunt Carol came in and told him she’d bring up some sunny-side up eggs, toast, bacon and coffee for him; and disappeared. So, he sat back down and waited for her to return. And, then he went downstairs with her and she helped him navigate around the house and outside, to see how he could handle things.

     This pattern seem to hold for the next week and Charles woke up every day wondering if today would be the day he would be the day he would be able to see or not. But, so far, all he could see was blurry shadows; though, that was more than he had seen before. So, he was hopeful that it would not be long before he saw something. And, then one morning, when he woke up and rubbed his eyes, his blurry vision cleared abit, and he saw the edges of the curtain by the window, and got so excited, he almost fell off the bed! He got up slowly and went over to the window, and pulled back the curtain some, to see if he could what else he could see. He could see the outline of a car in the driveway, the outline of the gazebo by the pond, and the arm of the porch swing. He went slowly over to the bedroom (even though he wanted to run!) and called down to his Aunt Carol to come upstairs! From the urgency in his voice, his Aunt must have thought he fell or something, because he had never seen her appear so fast! But, when he told her he had seen outlines of things, she just gave him a great big hug and could feel the tears running down her cheeks. When she stepped back a little, he could just make out the outline of her glasses, and the bright shirt she wore.

      After that, every day, when he woke up, he could see a little more, and he was walking around the house better, and even around outside, too. His Aunt Carol’s dog, Darwin, bounced around him, too, trying to be helpful; his young cousins laughed and giggled seeing how excited the dog was to see Charles getting around so well. They loved it that he could finally play ball with them, now, too, though his Aunt Carol told them to be gentle with him, yet. When she went back inside, he told them they were fine, because the looks on their little faces were so sad, he had a hard time not laughing, and he wanted to cheer them up. It was so wonderful to finally be able to participate in family activities again. He felt like he was truly apart of the family, again, and he was happy. Now, if he could just find a girlfriend! But, that was “title page” for another “chapter” of his life!

     For now, he couldn’t wait to get back swimming, playing baseball with the team from work, driving, going golfing with his Uncle Scott and cousins, and even horseback riding again. He knew that Peaches had missed their morning rides and he couldn’t wait to get back out there and show her that he hadn’t “forgotten” about her! But, the Doctor told him he should wait at least a few months, before he attempted horseback riding again; and to take it slow, while his eyes were healing, when he had seen him at his checkup. But, there was no reason he couldn’t out and see Peaches, brush her down, take her for a walk, and watch a sunset with her, and see the other horses he had missed all this time. He vowed to himself, that he would visit this weekend, if there was nothing going on, because he couldn’t WAIT to see Peaches! Horses had always been his *passion*, and the stables nearby had been bordering Peaches for him until he could ride her again. But, he hoped by October, that he could bring Peaches home to his Aunt Carol and Uncle Scott’s ranch house, and then he could see her every day. He couldn’t WAIT!

      And, he had returned to work at Goodwill; everyone there was surprised he had returned so quickly; but, they were pleased. They had all missed him! Getting back to work was good. He needed his routine back, and it felt good to have somewhere to go and something to do, when his alarm went off. His eyes were adjusting, though; he was still wearing sunglasses for now, until his eyes fully adjusted to the new corneas. But, everything was going good so far, and he wanted to keep it that way! Customers would kind of stare at him when they come in at first, but when he said he had cornea transplant surgery, they understood why he wore the sunglasses and didn’t question it anymore. Work seemed easier, now, somehow. Maybe it was because he could actually see what he was doing this time, and not feel like he was “fumbling around” all the time”. The past few years had been frustrating, with dropping things, running into things, getting things dropped on him, slipping on things, running into things, and customers just being rude at times, too. Now, he hoped, he would not have rude customers, and he knew that the other stuff should not happen, either, because he could see where he was going now, and could prevent accidents from happening before they started.

    It was like a whole new world had opened up for him, and all he had to do, was step out his front door and explore it! He also thought it would be seeing the world “through the eyes of a child”. They experienced things for the “first time”, and that’s what most experiences would feel like for him-the “first time”! He couldn’t WAIT to go exploring the new hiking trails about 1 ½ hours away from him, that his friend had been begging him to go see, because of their Amazing waterfalls. He had imagined how beautiful they would be, but, now, he could actually see them for himself. He would be sure and take his new camera with him, too, because he didn’t want to “forget” any part of this new experience! He knew it would be a day to “remember”, for sure! He couldn’t wait to go rock climbing with his friend, Seth, either. But, since he hadn’t been able to see, he hadn’t even attempted it. When his friend, Seth had called the other day, and wanted him to go to the Adirondacks, He said he’d Love to go! But, it would have to wait at least another month, the Doctor said. And, his other friend, George, wanted him to go Cave spelunking with him, too. And the Doctor told him he had to wait at least a month for that, because his friend wanted to go camping in the woods, too. He didn’t mind the “wait” so much, now, because at least now, he had goals set, and “time frames” to *achieve” them in. He was really looking forward to the next few months, and all the trips his friends had planned and wanted him to come on. It was AMAZING how fast his WHOLE life could change in just a few short weeks! He was glad he had listened to his Aunt Carol and gone to that Specialist Eye Doctor 1 ½ hours away; or, he would have NEVER been able to see again, and had all these AWESOME experiences to look forward to! He was also thankful that his church, too; and, he knew that *Faith* was a powerful thing. He would not have made it through everything without the power of all their prayers and loving support. He had some “dark days”, and without their prayers and support-and the support of his family-he didn’t think he would’ve made it through them in one piece.

      Looking back on everything, he realized how truly blessed he was in life. If that horse had kicked him a half smidgen to the left, he may have not EVER gotten his vision back! So, in reality, it had been a “blessing in disguise”. Though, if someone had told him that then, he would have not had thought so! It’s funny how your perspective changes, when an accident happens to you. Because, when he thought the worst had happened to him, he didn’t know what he was going to do. But, now, being on the “other side of it”, he had such an “eye-opening revelation”: Things really DO “happen for a reason”, and if he just had *Faith*, ALL things were *POSSIBLE*!!  WOW!! He felt stunned! Both things he had heard over a hundred times, and that bible verse was one had “grown up” his entire life! But, he hadn’t really given it much thought, until that very moment, he realized. He wasn’t going to let *ANYTHING* ever hold him back again! He felt like he got a “second chance” at life” and he wasn’t going to waste a single moment of it! There were “new roads to explore”, new “paths” to take, new friends to meet, and *NEW* places to visit! The world felt like it had come *ALIVE* for him, and couldn’t *WAIT* to show its *riches* to him!