oftentimes retracing the shape for emphasis. She can barely speak, and I
feel so sad for this innocent victim.
I turn away from the observation window to meet eyes with my boss
when I overhear a couple ER residents talking about the deaf guy who just
got admitted. “How in the world does a blind guy have a woodworking
shop in his basement?”
I don’t need any more data—this is Leonard.
“Where is Mr. Dowdy?” I ask the young doctors.
“Bay 3. You know him?”
“He’s a neighbor of mine. He okay?”
“Well, he sliced his fingers, but he’ll be okay. You wanna say hi?”
I pull the curtain back, and there is Mr. Dowdy on a gurney, his right
hand wrapped in a bloodstained washcloth. His wife is seated next to him,
her hand resting on his shoulder. I walk around the gurney, and greet them
by squeezing their shoulders, their hands quickly shimmying down my
forearms to my hands. Leonard, of course, only uses his left hand, but
nonetheless searches for my face.
It only takes a second, and Leonard knows me. A quick flurry of
fingerspelling to Betty, and she lets out a “David!” with great relief. She
stands up as Leonard breaks into that huge smile that all who know him
love.
One day, I will be a surgeon, but sewing up lacerated fingers is not yet
my forte. I am not a caregiver here, but a neighbor who stumbled upon a
friend in need. I am struck by Leonard’s equanimity and bravery—and his
bad fortune in suffering an accident despite working so hard to be safe.
Even more important, I am struck by the importance of Leonard’s
fingers to his well-being. Cutting your fingers is a tragedy; if your eyes
and ears don’t work and you connect to human beings with your hands, it’s
a catastrophe.
The timing of Leonard’s childhood meningitis dictated that no cure was
possible in the 1930s. A similar infection today, if treated promptly with
powerful antibiotics, would result in a complete cure. Betty’s congenital
deafness would obviously have no medicinal treatment, but similar forms
of hearing loss are now addressed with cochlear implants. And what does
the future hold for vision loss? There can be no doubt that future
implantable medical devices will restore lost vision, whether it arises from
injury to an eye or to the brain.
marcin
(Marcin)
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