by Mary Hamilton
Did you know that if you lost your eyesight as a child and didn’t recover it until you were an adult, you probably wouldn’t be able to recognize people, even after repeated exposure? And something as simple as stepping up onto a curb would be difficult because you wouldn’t comprehend depth. Your brain wouldn’t know what to do with much of the visual stimuli it receives.
If you’ve read my novel, Hear No Evil, you’re familiar with Steven Miller. He’s a fifteen-year-old camper who is blind but surprisingly capable. His dad made sure he learned how to maneuver himself in a sighted world to the degree that Steven fearlessly climbs onto the deep water raft and leaps off the diving board.
I’m excited to begin working on the third book in my Rustic Knoll Bible Camp series because it features Steven, my favorite character from the book series. I’ve looked forward to bringing him back to camp, having had his vision restored so he can see his friends and this camp where he’s spent so many happy weeks over the last twelve years. But when I started researching the topic of vision restoration, I discovered this likely will not work. Steven has a congenital condition that makes him legally blind. Since he’s had this from birth, his brain has not had the chance to develop the skills needed to interpret visual stimuli. He would not have learned to distinguish depth and distance. Faces and facial expressions would simply have no meaning for him because he’s never been able to attach them to familiar emotions and people. Pictures would be merely splotches of colors because he’s never associated those images with the objects he knows by touch.
As I read and research this, I’m once again amazed at the intricacy and awesomeness of the human body and the way it functions. I’m also reminded of the healing power of our Lord Jesus Christ. No wonder it caused such a stir when He healed a man blind from birth (John 9). Jesus healed the man’s brain as well as his eyes! The man’s vision was restored completely.
I’d love to write all this into the book, but I’m afraid it would take over the story. So for now, I’m leaving Steven without his sight and looking for a different weakness around which to build his story.
If you’d like to meet Steven, you can find him and his friends in Hear No Evil, Book 1 in the Rustic Knoll Bible Camp series.
And if you know more about this topic, I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment and tell me more!
Image courtesy of graur codrin and Freedigitalphotos.net.
