Blind Encounter

by Waggoner, Robert C.

Sue, with Ron’s guidance placed her under the shower and gave her a soaping up while she washed her long hair. He probably spent too much time on her breasts, but she didn’t seem to mind. Once she was finished with her hair, Ron gently moved her back a ways and finished rinsing off. The next thing he knew she had the soap in her hand lathering once again his growing member. Two minutes later a groan and a full body jerking occurred as he left his sperm for the first time in Switzerland.

  A knock at the door at precisely noon produced the smiling face of Helmut telling them lunch was served. Helmut, Ron noticed kept looking at Sue Ann and he clearly liked kids. Later he told them he was married and had on child with another on the way. His wife stayed upstairs where they lived and an Au pair helped with the chores. His wife was a doctor, but hadn’t practiced for a few years now raising their child.

  Helmut led them to a small lunch room where his wife and partner stood waiting for their patient and guests. Ron saw she was blonde like Sue and a bit on the stocky side, but pretty with a round face and nice smile. Introductions again out of the way they sat down to a steaming bowl of soup with homemade bread and cheese. Iris sat a little bewildered in a strange country feeding a bottle to Sue Ann.

  Small talk about their lives in America and Helmut’s wife Ingrid perked up when she heard that Sue was a writer. In perfect English she asked, “Are you the Sue Lyons who writes those pieces for magazines?”

  Sue lowered her head and said, “I guess so, but I didn’t know anyone in Europe knew my name. I thought only in America people knew my work.”

  “No, that is a misnomer if you will. You are very famous here and all over France, Germany, Italy and elsewhere. I’m surprised you didn’t know that you are very popular and upstairs I have many magazines with your articles of fascinating places and people. We learn more about America from your writing than any news that comes across the TV. Forgive me for asking but how do you write with such feeling and attention to detail with your handicap?”

  Sue laughed a little and said, “Ingrid, I just ask people to describe what they see and from that I make up the details they missed. Then from my reading of stories from great authors I steal people and places to fit the whole picture.”

  A smattering of applause came from the Swiss and then Helmut cleared his throat signifying it was time for business. “Now is time for us to do an overview of your case and relate it to the others we have done in the past. First let me tell you the procedure in laymen language without the medical jargon. First we clean the outside of the eye ball with a laser. From our research, blind people build up a microscopic film over the eye. They’re dead white cells that continue to fight off the disease. For reasons we don’t understand, the disease you had lies dormant and why the fighters continue is unknown at present. Next we inject, don’t worry it doesn’t hurt, we put you out and in a head restraint, an mixture of regeneration cells that heal if you will the lines of communication from brain to eye. Now this is the simplistic description, but we are still in the infant stages of this procedure. Over the last three years we have had over ninety percent success rate, from partial to full sight,” he sat back and smiled at the Filberts who were anything but calm hearing that this was experimental and there were no assurances of complete success.

  Ron asked, “Helmut, and I know I’m bridging here, how soon we will know what her percentage of sight will be.”

  “Three weeks, he shot back quickly. “Sue will be in one of our rooms in total darkness and without stress from the outside world. She can have visitors of course, but she must remain quiet and comfortable for the first week and then gradually, although still bandaged, the light is increased. By the second week we daily bring the light up to outside normal. At the start of the third week, we turn the light off and remove the covering of her eyes and hour by hour we bring the light up slowly. Not all react the same with the recovery schedule. Some have come to see well by the second week and others by the end of the third week.”

  Sue said, “I understand and when do we begin?”

  Helmut chuckled and said tomorrow morning after you have had a good night sleep and are relaxed, if one can relax. This is a simple operation and we feel you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. This afternoon we have two of our former patients coming in for a routine check up and they will be happy to meet you and tell you their experience. That in of itself should put you at ease.”

  Ingrid said, “Now if you like I will walk you around Old Town and tell you what is what and after you can see for yourself in three weeks, how I did.” That sounded good to all of them as legs needed stretching and Ron was anxious to shoot a few pictures even if it was a cloudy day.

  Ron the next morning was a nervous wreck. Sue was relaxed and calm. Before the procedure, Helmut showed them around and Ron saw the special dark room where Sue would spend the better part of threes week in. It was all stainless steel with the two windows fabricated to exact size to seal out the light. A double bed, small table and a comfortable looking chair sat in the small room. When the inner door of a two door system was closed, absolute darkness was felt, not seen. This to Ron was the life of a blind person twenty four seven. He felt like running out to where there was light, but soon Helmut opened the door to let in the light. He said, “Kind of scary huh? I use, when I check the patient, a black light to monitor the pulse and blood pressure. We have a special head set for you to read to her by and she can read by brail many books we have in our library to pass the time away.

  Back in the room where the procedure was to take place, Sue was laying on a gurney table being prepared for anesthesia. Sue calm and ready was ready to get on with it. Her resolve was evident as she lay patiently waiting. Helmut washed up and came back looking like a doctor ready for an operation. His partner was waiting and the laser hung like a menacing weapon of torture, it looked like to Ron. Helmut told Ron if he wanted to watch, he should wash and put on a gown with a face mask. Ron declined and left the sterile room.

  Not an hour later they wheeled Sue out with eyes covered in bandages. Helmut followed and told Ron that all went well. “Nothing to it,” he said with confidence. Ron nodded and hung back a little while Helmut added, “She will regain conscience in about fifteen minutes and we will loosely tie her arms to the bed so she doesn’t automatically reach for the bandages knowing something is on her eyes. Her head should clear up in a few minutes and you should talk to her so she feels safe and okay.”

  Helmut and Ron stood at her beside while waiting for her to wake up. For Sue she was in dream land and running through an open field of flowers on a warm sunny day. Birds were singing and little critters making small noises when she heard Ron’s voice from far away. Sue was coming out of it now and felt Ron’s hand on her arm saying, “I’m here honey and all is well and good. Relax and soon you will be fully back from you sleeping. Nothing to worry about as Helmut said it went well.”

  Sue, a bit groggy said, “I’m back now and that was quite a dream I had. I feel some discomfort with my eyes and it is not so bad. Now we wait and see, I hope, what happens. Thank you Doctor Helmut.”

  The week passed quickly as Ron, Iris and Sue Ann filled the days in darkness reading and talking about anything and everything. Sue read by brail the history of Switzerland and then the geography of Europe. Then she asked for geography of Argentina and for Ron to tell her all he knew and experienced of living on a ranch.

  Right on schedule the second week the windows were slightly opened and Sue reported some difference occurred but not much. During the first week and into the second, Helmut told her to do some eye exercises a few minutes a day. Looking in all four directions until she felt her eyes tiring then quit. By mid week the windows were opened to let in full daylight. Sue reported seeing light through her bandages and all got a little excited that she could see some light.

  By now Ron was a total nervous wreck and couldn’t sleep with eyes looking like road maps of red. Bags hung under his eyes and lines formed across his forehea
d. The day of reckoning was here. Today the bandages would come off and the light from total darkness gradually was increased. Hour by hour until full, although dim light, was for Sue to tell them what she saw. Sue was relaxed and calm, only Ron was pacing the small room as she waited for Helmut to remove the bandages and wait for the light to pass into the room.

  The room was now cast in light enough to see the outlines of its occupants. Sue sat up in bed and looked straight at the door in front of her. An hour later, which seemed to Ron a life time, Helmet said, “Sue take all the time you need. When you are ready to speak about what you see or can’t see is up to you.”

  Sue replied, “I can see light and shadows for now, but nothing clear.” Two agonizing hours later, she spoke and a smile crossed her face, “I see four people, but can’t tell male from female.” Iris was holding Sue Ann in her arms sitting in the chair. Helmut looking confident sat in another chair while Ron paced the floor.

  An hour later Helmut knew it was a success as he saw Sue looking around the room and eyes blinking normally? Ron noticed to and stood at the end of the bed with the light in the room now good enough for details. Sue, looked at Helmut and then at Iris and finally at the man standing at the end of the bed and said, “I thought you were more handsome than what I see standing at the end of the bed. You look very tired my husband. I think now we should fly to Argentina and I want to see what the land looks like. Is this our baby Sue Ann? She is lovely and many thanks to you Doctor Helmut.”

  Ron looked up at the ceiling and crumpled to the floor with a smile on his face….