Immortality and how we define it.
Ask any four year old and you will get a puzzled expression. Perhaps an 18 year old will embrace the concept that they are immortal. Time is on an endless, everlasting spectrum and their time on earth is just a fraction of what is to come. Sort of like a gas gauge on your vehicle, registering 7/8 full with hundreds of miles to go down that endless highway of life.
To a 40 something year old, maybe it is the halfway gauge that they have reached the apex of their life, and the rest is downhill. The point is, we really don’t know. That 40 year old for all we know, could get hit by the proverviable bus tomorrow.
For me, it hit me like a ton of bricks on July 11, 2016 when I was sitting on the couch watching the sorrowful shooting of 5 police officers in Dallas. Out of nowhere, a huge black thread appeared in front of me, and as I reached out to grab it, realized it was in my right eye and could do nothing about it. Later I would discover the technical term was “floater”, which was signalling the beginning of detachment of the retina. Little did I know.
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I went immediately to the local family clinic, explained the symptoms, and was seen by a young nurse practitioner. She seemed unconcerned but did fill out a recommendation to go to the ER in case of stroke. Really not knowing what was going on at this point, took a wait and see approach. Well, eleven days later when I opened my eyes after a restful sleep and noticed a large black disc covering the field of vision in my right eye, jumped out of bed in a panic and went back to the clinic.
Fortunately, a much more mature physician gave me a referral to see an opthamologist. However, this was on a Friday, and the referral was for Monday morning. So I spent the weekend in sheer terror, oblivious to the situation, but realizing that my vision was compromised. Up until this point, for the last 63 years, I had eagle eye vision, and was grateful and appreciative that I could clearly see the heavens above. Yes, presbyopia hit at about 50, but with reading glasses could compensate for this natural occurrence.
What happened after that was a blur of events. I was seen by the doctor, was told that I needed to be seen immediately by a retinal surgeon, and they would “fix the problem.” Well, I am such a lightweight when it comes to drugs, but the dilation eyedrops had me loopy and was barely comprehending what was going on. Within 3 hours, I underwent a procedure called a scleral buckle which changes the shape of the eyeball to flatten the area where the retina tore so that it could attach better. Then a gas bubble is injected to buoy up the delicate tissue while it heals. For about two weeks you see the bubble gradually dissipate.
And that was when I got a new appreciation for the word immortal. Litterally meaning without death and lasting forever, this no longer applied. No, I was not going to die tomorrow. Far from it. But the vision which had been so clear until now, would become like a cheap carnival ride, confusing, nauseating and uncomfortable. Tissues age, things change, our bodies break down.
Several things did come into focus, metaphorically speaking. One was that time IS of the essence, and until a crisis occurs, we perhaps are oblivious to this fact. I wouldn’t wish this to happen to anybody, but I truly realize that taking good health for granted is a mistake. Start checking those items on your bucket list NOW. You don’t know when you may not get a second chance.
