Harry Reid, who took a brutal fall in a New Year’s Day exercise accident, says he may be permanently blind in his right eye.
In an interview Tuesday with CNN, Reid said “no, probably not” when asked if he would ever see again out of his injured eye.
“You know in life, you don’t always get what you want,” Reid said, wearing sunglasses to protect his eye. “And I wish I hadn’t hurt myself.”
Reid said he wears protective sunglasses because the “little bit of light” that he can see is “more distracting than helpful.” But he added that there is experimental surgery in California and Iowa that one day may help restore his vision.
“We’re not there yet,” Reid, 75, said. “Maybe someday.”
Reid was exercising with a large resistance band at his home outside of Las Vegas on New Year’s Day when it snapped, causing him to crash into his bathroom cabinets. Reid broke multiple bones around his eye and in his ribcage. He had surgeries to help restore his vision, including to help dissipate the blood pooling in his eye.
But nothing so far has worked — and Reid seems resigned to the likelihood that he may be partially blind for the rest of his life.
“I’m sorry I hurt myself doing something that I’ve been doing for years. But it’s affected my stability. I’m getting better,” Reid said. “I’ve been doing exercises for that. … I can read now. Don’t read nearly as fast as I used to. I had world-class speed reading ability. I don’t have that anymore. But I’m doing just fine.”