What God Has Done

As many have experienced firsthand, cataract surgery is one of those transforming miracles of modern medicine. But it may surprise you to know that the first reported surgical removal of a cataract occurred in Paris in the year 1748! More recently, the famed neuroscientist Dr. Oliver Sacks wrote a story about a man named Virgil who was blind since birth. At about age 50, Virgil underwent cataract surgery to restore his sight. But when the bandages were removed, Dr. Sacks explained, it wasn’t like in the movies — with the patient rejoicing as he or she sees the faces of loved ones for the very first time. Instead, Virgil’s first experience of sight was a confusing blur of shapes and colors. And we can only imagine what it must be like to have one’s sight restored after a lifetime of blindness. When modern cataract surgical techniques were developed in the 1960s, the experience of many patients who were now seeing for the first time was…