This Post is not about Pirates.

Who needs perfect vision anyway!

I am blind in one eye, but I do not rock an eye patch. And though I wish I had two functioning peepers, I do not forget how fortunate I am.

A brain bleed in 2005 damaged some of my cranial nerves. According to the Cleveland Clinic, these nerves send electrical signals between one’s brain, face, neck, and torso. Cranial nerves help us taste, smell, hear, and feel sensations. The nerves also allow you to make facial expressions, blink your eyes, and move your tongue.

After sustaining a traumatic brain injury, I could not blink my right eye or move the right side of my face. And because that eye had migrated towards my nose, I looked cross-eyed and experienced double vision. My frustrations multiplied as the months passed.

“Doc, can’t you just scoop it out and give me a glass eye? I look like a circus freak, and this double vision is infuriating.” The medical expert, one of the best in the country, shook his head, “I’m sorry, Matt. No doctor will remove an anatomically healthy eye. You must be patient.”

Unfortunately, he didn’t prescribe 1000mg of a pill loaded with perseverance. Instead, I wore down the sharp edge of enmity for my situation by focusing on other areas of my physical and mental recovery. However, this post is not about perseverance but appreciation.

I am fortunate to have one working eye.

I’d not have written that sentence 15 years ago as I seethed, thinking about how my world had changed. I could not accept that I’d never strap on the pads and goaltend again. I bristled at the necessity of walking along people’s right side because I could not see them if they were on my right side while strolling down the sidewalk. And due to my compromised depth perception, I’d never again be the dominant beer pong player I was at Penn State (delusions of grandeur).

Time and therapy soothed me, nurturing the realization of my blessings. I know now that my imperfect sight is a trivial trait. I am lucky to be alive and independent. I am grateful I can see the snowfall outside, the cat’s plump belly as she rolls onto her back, and my girlfriend’s beautiful smile. I am happy because I focus on my abilities, not what I lack.