Seeing was Yesterday

SEEING WAS YESTERDAY

M. Collyer

Nothing would ever be the same again - that is the first thought which
came into Kate's mind as she opened her eyes and realised that she had
entered a totally new world.

Two weeks ago, on a cold, crisp morning, Kate had started the day as
usual - preparing breakfast for her husband Tony and their two children
- Tony aged 8 and their 4-year-old daughter, Emily. They all left the
house promptly at 8.20 a.m. in the car. Their large Labrador retriever,
Hero, bounded into his place at the back and flopped down, emitting a
big sigh. She dropped her husband off at the local railway station and
the children at their school, which was only a short distance further
on up the road.

Now Kate could relax a little after the initial morning rush. it was
time for Hero and herself to have their walk through the nearby park.
Hero always began to be excited when he saw the park gates, and other
dogs being lead into the park by their owners. He would suddenly sit up
in the car and let out a continuous whining which would get louder and
louder the nearer they got to the park. Kate parked the car and then
let Hero out and locked the car. Off they went, Kate walking at a
steady pace, Hero racing along as if he would never stop. Kate was
always a little worried at his speed, especially if anyone was unlucky
enough to get in his way, because they would soon be knocked off their
feet if they did. Luckily the park was fairly empty just at the moment
so Hero was able to race along without upsetting anyone. Kate was
thinking about how nice it would be when the spring came and the
flowerbeds would once more be filled with daffodils, tulips and
hyacinths. Everything looked very forlorn at the moment and there was
an absence of birdsong.

Suddenly the silence was interrupted by an awful screeching sound. Kate
came to a complete standstill - what a terrifying sound - it made the
hairs stand up on the back of her neck - what on earth could it be!
Then she realised that Hero was no-where to be seen. Where on earth was
he. She called his name several times but there was no response. Hero
was always so good on recall so why was he ignoring her call. She
carried on walking but still there was no sign of him. Panic began to
grip her. Where was Hero? All this time she was still aware of the
screeching sound but could not see the cause of it. Suddenly she
rounded a corner and her horrified eyes saw the writhing figure of Hero
in front of her, caught in an enormous mass of wire. Kate raced over to
help him but in doing so tripped over an enormous panel of wood, which
was lying across the path, and crashed her head into an enormous oak
tree.

Kate could feel the softness underneath her and could vaguely hear the
sound of voices around her but she had absolutely no idea as to where
she was. The overriding feeling she had at the moment was that of an
excruciating headache which gave her an awful feeling of nausea. Kate
was in and out of consciousness for several days and then gradually she
became more aware of her surroundings and was able to understand what
was being said to her, and what she heard filled her with terror, they
were telling her that she was blind, totally and utterly blind, would
probably never be able to see anything again, the nerves at the back of
her eyes had been badly damaged. She was unable to take in the full
implication of what was being said to her - it must be a dream - or
maybe it wasn't her they were talking about - perhaps it was someone
else with the same name. She would wake up in a moment and everything
would be all right again, just as it had been before. But no, it was
Kate herself who had sustained this awful injury from into that oak
tree with such force. She had to face the raw truth of it - she was the
one who had lost her sight.

Nothing would ever be the same again - not the same but life could have
some meaning for Kate in the future if what she had been told could
happen - a social worker had spoken to her several times whilst she had
been in the hospital, and she had told Kate of a whole range of gadgets
and equipment which could help her in her daily living - but the most
promising of all surpassed any of this - the prospect of being trained
with a guide dog so that she would be fully mobile again and would not
have to depend upon others to get around. Once she had fully recovered
from her terrible ordeal, a representative from the guide dogs training
centre would visit her at home and she would be interviewed regarding
the possibility of being trained with a guide dog.

Now she had an incentive to get better.

THE END