How I saved myself from blindness

To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable. – English poet John Milton

He that is stricken blind cannot forget the precious treasure of his eyesight lost. – William Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet

There’s nothing wrong with your eyes, the column title is correct. A few months ago, I gave myself the best birthday gift ever by saving myself from blindness. Minutes before I underwent Lasik eye surgery by French Dr. Alain Philippe Telandro – with two US-trained physicians Dr. Rory Go and Dr. Edward Uy – at the Advanced Vision Laser Center in Makati, young businesswoman Gladys Yao of Washington Jewelry inquired about my eyes. Since I had taken off my eyeglasses when a nurse put anesthetic drops in my eyes, I was surprised that I couldn’t see Gladys’ face, just an outline of her head. When I told her my right eye had a grade of 1,100 and my left eye 770, she remarked: "You’re legally blind!"

It was the first time it hit me: I was legally blind.

Getting The Courage

I used to have this irrational fear that due to my love of reading, I was making myself progressively and hopelessly blind. Despite the fear of someday not being able to read books or appreciate beauty anymore, I never stopped being a voracious reader. Dr. Rory Go and Dr. Edward Uy later assured me that this need for prescription glasses is genetic – not because a guy reads tons of books!

When I thought I was becoming blind as my eyesight started getting worse, I decided not to pursue law school despite having passed the exams at UP and Ateneo. I used to think that as a consolation, I would someday join the ranks of remarkable men and women to whom blindness was not an obstacle to achieving their dreams. The great Greek poet Homer was blind since birth. Others were the magnificent Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges, the scientist and philosopher Galileo Galilei, the Jewish nation’s patriarch Isaac, novelist James Joyce, writer Helen Keller, 17th-century poet John Milton, Italian singer Andrea Bocelli, US singers Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, the biblical Samson who was enamored of Delilah and was blinded by the Philistines, and many others. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2002, more than 161 million people in the world were visually impaired, of whom 124 million had low vision and 37 million were blind. It is estimated that the number of blind people will rise to 76 million by year 2020, yet 75 percent of this blindness is preventable and avoidable.

Nowadays, I no longer have to wear cumbersome eyeglasses. Before, like the bespectacled journalist Clark Kent (ehem!º) who takes off his glasses whenever he turns into Superman, I used to take off my eyeglasses, too, when posing for photographs. Even if in recent years I used super-thin lenses, it’s still so great to get rid of eyeglasses, thanks to advances in medical technology and my three doctors.

How did I muster the guts to undergo what is actually a quick and painless eye surgery? Many friends who underwent Lasik are happy with the result and I also dated a few girls who told me they had undergone it, so why should I chicken out if those pretty girls had the guts to try it?

When I went to the clinic of Dr. Rory Go and Dr. Edward Uy, what gave me additional courage was my seeing the Canadian ambassador there also, as well as an elder brother and the wife of Dr. Rory Go. There were patients over age 40 who go to this clinic, because they’re the only Lasik center in Metro Manila who can also take away the need for reading glasses. This center was highly recommended by friends from the Anvil Business Club, Bernard Go and Michael Tan.

Invincible Hope Despite Darkness

Recently, I decided to stop by the New Vision Massage Center on El Grande Avenue in BF Homes, Parañaque City, right beside El Grande Inn. For only P300, blind masseurs for guys and blind masseuses for women will give you the best one-hour massage comparable with those in five-star hotels or health clubs.

Blind couple Lito Castro and his wife Narda say the center is a cooperative owned and managed entirely by the blind massage therapists, but they do hire employees who can see and who can assist them as secretaries and guides.

The 37-year-old Lito recounts that he became blind as a one-year-old child in Pasay City due to an ailment, while his 38-year-old wife Narda has been blind since she was born in Cavite. They met and fell in love in their cooperative and now their only child is seven years old, and he is not blind. The couple says that their being visually impaired "is not a hindrance for them to earn a decent livelihood."

Narda says, "When I was a child, my family and siblings thought that I would always be dependent on them, that they would have to take care of me throughout my life. But I have always believed in self-reliance, in making the best of the circumstances and my fate. We can make our own future better, if we really want to and if we have faith in God."

Lito says, "Other people with small problems keep complaining about life, but even if we are blind, we are hopeful and we are doing well. We have no complaints; life must go on. We believe God gave us blindness because He knows we can handle it and because He has his own purpose. God does not give people problems that they cannot handle. We are always optimistic about the future."

* * *

Thanks for writing; all messages will be answered. Comments, suggestions, jokes and criticisms are welcome at willsoonflourish@gmail.com or wilson_lee_flores@yahoo.com or wilson_lee_flores@hotmail.com.