3 Volume Novel/Case Report

A man in his fifties, with a longstanding
History of abusing ethanol
--Not to put too fine a point on it, a drunk --
Became blind in one eye after an attack
By muggers. His left eye was damaged but
Retained partial vision. He was given
A glass eye for the right side, which fit fine.
Over the next few years, his health diminished
And sight on the left deteriorated
Until he found himself totally blind.

In succeeding months, he frequently noticed
A bright white light in both visual fields,
"Like the sun trying to peer in through a haze,"
And refused a second glass eye for fear
Of losing the sense of illumination.
He had the sensation, lasting several days,
That his vision had been restored. During
these episodes, he could walk about without
Asking for assistance, watch television
And discuss the program later with his friends.
Each binge, he put away a quart of vodka.

He was admitted to the hospital.
When questioned, he described the exam room
And the doctors who were with him. They said,
"In many particulars, his descriptions
Were wrong. But his conflabulations were
Plausible." He did admit that he was
Also seeing things that were not really there.
He described the examining room as
Being full of little children wearing
Yellow coveralls and worn-out sneakers
Walking in and out of the rooms through the walls.
He also described a hound eating a bone
At the foot of the bed and then noted
The walls and floor of the room were flowered orange.
The children, the dog and the wall flowers
He recognized as hallucinations
But held to his conviction that his other
Visual experiences were real.

In the next 48 hours, he received
Thiamine by vein, multi-vitamins
And counseling, but continued to have
Vivid visual experiences,
Seeing "a room full of doctors crawling around"
As well as other people or animals,
Often in multiples of themselves. His
Insight into their hallucinatory
Nature persisted, yet he believed that
He could otherwise see normally. He was
Discharged in six days, cured -- that is to say, blind.