When I was taken by ambulance to a Philadelphia hospital from our local medical center the day I woke up blind, I wore a hospital gown and my own white athletic socks. When I was admitted by the city hospital, I was given a pair of non-slip socks which I put on over my own. During the week I was a patient I wore my shorts and t-shirts my husband brought me from home and kept wearing my own socks under the mandated hospital safety pairs.
Five years later, I can’t stand to be without socks. Even in the summer, I wear them at home and sleeping with naked size 7’s is impossible. I cannot bear the feel of them exposed against the covers or the carpet or other flooring. I have discussed it with my therapist and she has given me different steps to take at night to work up to sleeping with bare feet. Admittedly I haven’t attempted her suggestions very often but the few times that I have I have been unsuccessful.
It is amazing how the mind can manifest trauma into something physical, so many years later, when I have adapted the rest of my life to live with limited vision. Although I have landed on my feet, they still wear the protection of the most life-changing week of my life.
