Comment by Daub | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Daub | Hacker News Reader

I am the proud possesser of an artificial eye. The original I lost as a result of a workshop accident.

I remember laying down in the operating theatre before the operation just as I was receiving anasethetic. I could just about see through the remainder of my eye and thinking that this was the last time I would be doing so. Odd feeling.

My artificial eye sits on top of what they called a frame, which had to be installed at the same time my old eye was removed. In my country, finding someone experienced to do this was not easy. It moves in the same way my functional eye does, but is slightly slower. This is only noticeable if I moves my eyes quickly.

My first artificial eyes matched perfectly the original. The company that made it was very proud as this was the first Caucasian eye they had made. Nonetheless, when I am outside I still wear an eyepatch. This is because the traffic in my part of the world is from Hades and I need traffic and pedestrians to know that I am of limited vision. Also because an eye patch looks dam cool. One for problem I have is that a lot of young people see the eye patch and assume I am cosplaying.

Loosing my eye has caused my balance to become truly dreadful. Also, my field of vision requires that I scan ahead using ridiculously wide head turns.

I recently got a new artificial eye to match the color of my cat's eye, which is yellow/green. Reason = why not? I enjoy unnerving people with my fake bichromaticity.

Thank you for your interesting story. If you don't mind my asking, what was the nature of the workshop and the accident and what was the experience like between the accident and the medical procedure? It's rare you can ask these kinds of questions so first hand accounts are both interesting and educational. Apologies if this is not something you'd like to discuss.

Happy to answer any question. I have a small workshop with a table saw, drop saw and a few other things. When cleaning the saw, our cleaner had inadvertently dropped a metal bolt into the saw well. Added to this, I had not cleaned the extraction housing for too long. When I used the saw, the bolt fractured, shot out and hit my head and my eye. The eye became infected to the point where it was clear nothing was going to save it.

Before the operation, I was desperate to have the eye removed. Partly because I did not want the infection to spread and partly because of the pain. The doctor was experienced and did a good job. She was one of the few local doctors who can perform that operation. Others would have removed the eye but not been able to install the frame, on which the fake eye sits. This would have left me with a nasty looking empty socket.

Waking up from the anesthetic my wife was there to greet me. A touching memory. Healing was not troublesome. Walked around with a black eye for a few days. I was told that the vision of my remaining eye would improve but I can't say that I have noticed such a thing. I am now a lot more clumsy than before, and have to take care on the stairs of our house.

Weirdest thing was the hallucinations. The nerves of my missing eye obviously still wanted desperately to be receiving information, in lack of which they just made stuff up. At night I would see worm-like things snaking around each other. A bit scarry, but also very compelling. These have faded but my ability to envisage things at night is now supercharged. In the right circumstances, visual ideas come thick and fast.

Wow, what a crazy fluke. Sounds really harrowing and scary. Thanks for your response.

In retrospect do you think there's anything you could have done to prevent it? Different eye protection, Different process, some sort of mental checklist? Do you still have the workshop and if so, have you changed your process in any way?

I'm really quite scared of table saws but they are obviously a very useful tool. I would like to get one eventually, but this is a vector of danger I would have never considered.

The workshop is too integral to who I am, and I still use it. My wife was supportive of this, though she had her reservations. I still use the saw, but now am much more carfull.

Table saws can be dangerous if used poorly. There are plenty of vids out there showing the most common mistakes, all of which I was aware of. What I was unaware of was how completely packed the dust well had become. I also had a pair of safety goggles, which I still do not wear. I find them far to intrusive. Instead when I am cutting I make sure that my glasses are on properly, and i am not looking over them.

All that being said, a table saw, a drop saw and a pillar drill are the heart and soul of a workshop.

The real danger is how easily wounds can get infected, especially in Asia. I am now more likely to seek immediate medical help when I am cut. Also, I now have multiple bottles of iodine in the house, just in case.

Has science progressed to the point where you can see out of the artificial eye yet? I remember hearing some buzz around connecting a camera directly to the socket->brain a while back but didn’t pay much attention

I think the best that is possible in terms of artificial vision is still very poor. May be useful for totally blind people but of little use to people like me

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