The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-02-19

WHAT A BLIND MAN LIKES TO SEE

H. Cummings, Methodist minister
whose sight after practically total
blindness for more than 80 years
was partially restored by a fall on a
slippery pavement a week ago yester-
day, is awaiting the result of thor
ough examination of his eyes by DR..
Samuel Theobold.
Mr.. Cummings is undergoing some
novel experiences. and at times he is
tempted to wish he were back in the
former darkness SO terrible seem the
things of which he was entirely un-
conscious before.
THE street cars appear to be driving
right at me- he says. Awning poles
seem as big as telegraph poles, and
appear to be rusing to meet and crush
me. Men walking toward me seem
impossible to avoid. Light is plenti-
full, and can distinguish what things
are for the first time in years, but
have no sense of distance or proper
ton. / am inclined to believe that
things appear very much to me as
images in concave Or convex mirrOs
are described.
One of the touching incidents of
Mr.. Cummings restoration to partial
was his ability to distinguish the fea-
35 years. The last time he saw his
son he was boy of six, but last Mon
day he was able to perceive the out
lines OF the mans face of Al. He was
so affected that he could only say in
tones of deep emotion. my boy!"
His condition is exactly the same
as just after the fortunate accident.
The partial restoration of sight is re-
tanned, and there is no sign of either
a dimming of the new vision or of
complication, such as inflammation,
which might have a serious result.
Eye Pierced by Arrow.
Dr. Thoebold's preliminary examina-
ton developed some interesting fea-
lures. Mr. Cummings left eye was
pierced by an arrow. shot by boy in
play so or more years ago. The sight
left that eye at once. and about IA
years later the other eye became
affected alphabetically. and dark
curtain dropped further and further
over it until it became obscured to
such an extent that Mr.. Cummings
was unable, he says. to distinguish be-
tween day and night. He could dis
tinguish bright light from shadow with
the other eye-the one which was or
iginally injured
DR.. Theobold says that the fall of a
week ago performed an operation sim
liar to that performed by oculists up
TO about % years ago, when it was
abandoned. He diagnoses the sym
pathetic action in the uninjured eye
as cataract. and the cataract he de.
scribes as follows: Behind the retina
there is globe of jelly-like substance
known as the crystalline lens. This
lens is in the direct line of vision, and
in the normal eye ispurely transparent
A cataract is formed by this lens be-
coming hardened and opaque. AS the
lens is movable, it was formerly Gus
tomary to insert a needle into the ball
of the eye and dislodge it from its or
binary place. causing it to fall to
the lower part of the eye, thus remov
ing it from the line of vision. The Oper
alton was abandoned because a large
proportion of the patients developed
inflammation, which caused worse con
dition than the cataract. The fall per
formed this operation, ulslOdging the
cataract from Mr. Cummings eye. DR.
Theobold believes that the danger OF
inflammation has passed
1t seems assured at present that the
very least that can result is a per
manent recovery of sight sufficient to
distinguish things. and, possibly, even
to read to limited extent. In a pre-
liminary test made with various pow
cred lenses, DR.. TheObOld enabled Mr.
Cummongs to read. with some little
difficulty, printed letters perhaps hall
an inch high.