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How
did you spend the 5 days?
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My fingers just felt so clumsy at first.
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My
days were really packed. I'd have to get up by 6:30 or 7 AM
and have a quick breakfast and then have MRI's or other
testing in the morning, and then I'd have Braille instruction
for 3-4 hours a day, which I found extremely interesting.
But it can get tiring sitting there trying to relearn the
alphabet, to recognize the dots with your fingers. My fingers
just felt so clumsy at first.
To
improve my dexterity, I'd do things like working with clay
or drawing with pastels each afternoon. I probably had pastels
all over my face. I drew a tropical island in the Philippines
that I visited last year. I drew a macaw because I like birds.
I'd try to keep track in my mind where I was drawing so I
could draw things in the correct position.
Were
you aware of your other senses improving?
I
knew that it was becoming easier for me to read Braille, but
I didn't know if that was just because I could recognize the
characters faster. I'm sure my fingers becoming more sensitive
helped a lot, but in terms of everyday touching things, it
wasn't all that apparent.
A
funny thing happened the day after I got out. I like Indian
food and spicy food a lot. I had chicken vindaloo the week
before I went to the study. I had the same dish the evening
after I left the hospital. I almost couldn't take it because
it was so spicy! That never happens to me. I had just assumed
my taste buds died years ago!
Other
than the inconveniences of not seeing, did you miss your sight
on an emotional level?
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I now know what it's like to not have sight for a week.
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I
now know what it's like to not have sight for a week. But
I don't know what it's like to be blind. I didn't have to
deal with a lot of things people in real life would have to
deal with. I was in a controlled room, with help a push-button
away. I knew that it was over at the end of the week. Missing
my sight never got me down because I knew it was over in a
week.
One
funny thing was that, even though I was blindfolded, I liked
to have the lights on. I liked to have the door closed and
the curtain open. The idea of going to the bathroom with the
lights off was kind of spooky to me even though it didn't
matter. 
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