"There is no psychiatrist in the
world like a puppy licking your face."
— Ben Williams
...Nor is there any ophthalmologist in
the world like a Labrador Retriever, it seems.
AUKLAND (New Zealand) — Lisa
Reid of Devonport had spent the last ten years of her life without
sight—a result of optic atrophy brought on by a cancerous brain tumor
at age 11. According to yesterday's ABC
News report, a delicate operation had been successful in
removing the tumor and saving her life, but her optic nerves remained
permanently damaged. By age 14, after a long and physically
painful ordeal, she was left completely blind.
But
that all changed after she kissed her beloved guide dog Ami last
November.
Now, anybody who keeps
a Labrador in the house knows that there's no such thing as a deftly-executed-dog-kiss.
When you pucker for your pooch, you're opening yourself up to all sorts
of hazards and liabilities including, but not limited to: abrasions, a
black eye, minor concussion, and of course momentary respiratory
difficulties associated with drowning.
Nobody
knows exactly what happened that night when Ms. Reid went to give Ami a
bedtime kiss, but somehow the woman ended up conking herself on the
melon pretty hard.
"I kind
of lost my balance," she says. "[I] hit my head on the floor
and coffee table at same time."
The
following morning, Ms. Reid awoke to a miracle. She recalls:
"I just saw the white of my ceiling. Looking around my
room… the light shining through the curtains… the window frame…
Looking at Ami. She's just beautiful."
|
 Doctors
could find no medical explanation. The optic nerve is one of the
few human tissues that cannot regenerate itself, and subsequent tests
have verified that hers is still as damaged as before. But still,
she has regained 80% vision in her left eye.
Ms. Reid's astounding story is told in
her new book Angel Eyes, which hit New Zealand bookshelves last
Tuesday. In it she describes how, throughout her blindness, she
had maintained the strength to remain active in teaching people about
blindness and
raising money for the organization that trained her seeing-eye dog Ami.
As for the future, doctors remain
tentative, but Ms. Reid seems unfazed, saying, "If my vision went, just
like that, I would continue to feel gifted and happy because I would
still have experienced a miracle—and still have a special experience to
share with everyone."
Ophthalmologist Dr. Ross McKay is
baffled. "I don't believe in miracles," he says.
Me neither. (But I believe in
dogs.)
§§§
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