I recently returned from my honeymoon in Bora Bora. Before I left, I had seen photos on the Internet and really thought that the photos were photoshopped. What’s funny is that Bora Bora seems photoshopped even in person.
I realized it’s because my eyes and my brain have never experienced color like that before. My eyes and brain were almost as if they were learning to see again.
The depths of blues. The depths of colors. During the day, dramatic changes in shades in blue and during the night . . . amazing star gazing in a black sky. We had a hard time finding the Big and Little Dipper because there were so many stars in the deep, black sky.
I loved Bora Bora so much because I felt so in touch with myself and so in touch with the earth and water. And traveling with your best friend for life and a Go Pro camera . . . what could be better?
And of course, I thought about my patients back home with impaired vision from cataracts, glaucoma and retinal conditions. It really hurt! It just felt painful knowing that their eyes may never be able to experience seeing beautiful things.
I saw one of those patients last week and I did my best to describe my experience. She soaked up every word and asked for a tissue. I asked her what was wrong and her reply was: “Bora Bora looks beautiful, thank you for showing it to me.” We teared up for a moment.
And that is why I love my job.
Yours truly,
Dr Gill
