Sight restored

The Dec. 10 story Man nearly blinded in hunting accident has 18th eye surgery says regarding Cameron Stovall that, “Following a tragic hunting accident at age 26, it as determined that he had no light perception whatsoever in either blood-filled eye during repeated examination by multiple doctors.”

Doctors told Stovall’s family that he would live the rest of his life in complete darkness.

Thanks to a body of work compiled by Helen Keller Foundation researchers during the past 25 years, that is not the case. Through surgery, Stovall has regained enough eyesight in one eye to walk independently, bat a baseball and sink a basketball.

Stovall is not the first patient blinded in both eyes to benefit from the transformative research, and he won’t be the last. He doesn’t have to be.

The essential lesson for the public is this: If your eye is injured, with few exceptions, even a finding of no light perception should not stop surgical exploration as the final test of whether some useful eyesight can be restored.

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Sight restored."