Friday, July 30, 2010

Colors seem to fade...

I was talking to a patient today like I usually do. The conversations generally start off the same; I'll ask the patients how they are, they'll give me a brutally honest response (there is something about a doctors' office that allows people to shut off their filter).
Today there was a man that was talking about how he had slowly lost his ability to see colors over a two year period (there really was a medical reason as to why he was sharing his story...I don't think he just goes around and tells people about this). He hadn't noticed that it was happening (the brain is a tricky, tricky thing), but started to realize it when he couldn't tell the difference between a red light and a green light and he only saw gray sky.
When he finally went to the doctor, he had his cataract removed and for the first time in 2 years he saw the world in technicolor.
I'm not going to say it's unusual to meet a happy patient, but it's definitely not the norm (eg. Earlier today I pleasantly said hello to someone and they responded with a cold, "Why are YOU so happy??"). For some reason I was fascinated by this man's story and all I could say was, "That must have been great to finally be able to see color after all that time."
He looked at me for a second and replied thoughtfully, "It was the most amazing feeling of my life."
I literally got goose bumps. Not because this man could finally see color, but because the only difference between us is that he knows what it's like to lose colors and then get it given back and I've always been able to see colors and don't appreciate it.
Throughout the last week, I have been on a roller coaster of emotions. Other than it exhausting me, it's kind of put a gray haze over my week. I was thinking...wouldn't it be awesome to have a fairly simple procedure done and finally be able to see all the great things your life has to offer?
Just take a little Claritin and finally see that life isn't so bad...

So, my goal for this weekend* (yes, I'm starting small) is to focus on all of the super colorful stuff my life has to offer and forget about every gray-ish thing happening around me.

*It's always best to not start with a program too quickly. I'm going to start with this whole "Sarah will appreciate colors" thing at 6pm. You know...when the weekend officially starts. Cheers!

4 comments:

Julie said...

You get right down to the bottom of the barrel and ya float back on top...on top..hmmm hmm yeahhhhhhhhh! :D

whatnot said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
whatnot said...

Beautiful blog from the most beautiful blogger in all of the blogosphere. Blog on Bloggerette!

This comment is brought to you today by the the letter B...most specifically the word "Beautiful" and from derivatives of the word "blog."

Seriously, Sarah...your post is so inspirational, it borders on spiritual. Thank you, Sweetie.

whatnot said...

That's so wrong. I noticed a typo in my first comment and I had already published it. I hate typos but I couldn't figure out how to fix it. So I deleted it and started over. Now there is a mysterious message "This post has been removed by the author", which leads readers to the erroneous assumption that someone made a rude comment and then had a change of heart. So I'm just telling you that the deleted comment is from me and my bad keyboarding skills.

But let me use this opportunity to say once again that your blog is so lovely and that I will intentionally begin looking for the colors in my life too.

I love you!
:o)