Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Texas Republican, remains effectively blind after undergoing emergency surgery on his remaining eye this month but is confident his vision will return, the congressman said Friday.
“I can lift my head up again and no longer have to position myself face-down, which is a relief,” said Mr. Crenshaw. “This is obviously good news, but it doesn’t mean we are out of the woods yet.”
Mr. Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who lost his right eye in a 2012 combat injury he suffered in Afghanistan, said earlier this month that he recently underwent emergency surgery for a detaching retina.
Two weeks after the surgery, Mr. Crenshaw said the procedure “went very well” but that it would be a while before he is fully recovered.
“I still cannot see much other than lights and shadows, basically, as I am still in the early stages of my recovery,” Mr. Crenshaw said in a statement.
“I am not sure how my vision will be in a few weeks, but I am hopeful and confident that it will return to normal,” Mr. Crenshaw said.
Mr. Crenshaw, 37, previously explained that both his right and left eye were damaged when he was injured by an improvised explosive device that had detonated while deployed to the war in Afghanistan.
“Anyone who knows the history of my injuries knows that I don’t have a ‘good eye,’ but half a good eye,” Mr. Crenshaw said previously. “The blast from 2012 caused a cataract, excessive tissue damage and extensive damage to my retina. It was always a possibility that the effects of the damage to my retina would resurface, and it appears that is exactly what has happened.
Mr. Crenshaw was honored for his military service with accolades including two Bronze Star Medals and the Purple Heart. He retired from the Navy in 2016 and first elected to Congress two years later.
Source:Washington Times
