The accident that lead me to support
Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind
Thank you to all those who have helped in my annual fundraisers for Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind.
We've raised $3,263 since 2014! Continue reading below, to learn what lead me to support this wonderful cause.
We've raised $3,263 since 2014! Continue reading below, to learn what lead me to support this wonderful cause.
In May of 1997, I was performing in one of my first ever shows at The Second City, in Chicago. It was part of a training class and I couldn't have known that it would be the first of nearly 300 performances I'd be a part of for The Second City. Back then, I could only dream that someday I'd make a living as an actor.
During an improvisation game, I was accidentally struck in the eye by an errant fist from a fellow performer. I was standing directly behind him, and he had no idea what he had just done. The "shatter resistant" right lense of my eye glasses shattered into my eye. The pain was intense as I collapsed onto the stage and the audience gasped in shock.
I was rushed downtown to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where a young, enthusiastic doctor tried with all his might to not let on that I was going to be blind in my right eye. His reassurances to the contrary were transparent. He believed what I feared -- that I'd never see from my right eye again.
At midnight, the head ophthalmological surgeon drove to the hospital and sewed my cornea back together with two tiny stitches. With my eyes both taped shut for ten days to keep me from moving them, I wondered if I'd ever perform on stage again.
Over the course of the next few months, I would make many visits to the doctors. There was always a new ophthalmologist waiting to see my eyeball. Apparently, the story had made the rounds. Each new doctor would peer through the machine to get a closer look, then lean back. Every single one of them would then say the same thing. "Wow. You are so lucky." The consensus was that if the plastic had cut just 3 millimeters to the left, I would have been blinded for life. But I wasn't blinded. I was lucky. I can see.
Since then, I have tried to never take my sight for granted. But honestly, I still do all the time. I think all of us with sight probably do.
The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind provides guide dogs free of charge to people with disabilities. It costs $50,000 to raise and complete the training of one guide dog. The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind has the highest possible (4-star) rating from Charity Navigator, and is a top rated "A" charity from CharityWatch.
Please click the button below and give what you can afford - even if it's just "five bones".
Thank you for your support.
Joel Mehr
During an improvisation game, I was accidentally struck in the eye by an errant fist from a fellow performer. I was standing directly behind him, and he had no idea what he had just done. The "shatter resistant" right lense of my eye glasses shattered into my eye. The pain was intense as I collapsed onto the stage and the audience gasped in shock.
I was rushed downtown to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where a young, enthusiastic doctor tried with all his might to not let on that I was going to be blind in my right eye. His reassurances to the contrary were transparent. He believed what I feared -- that I'd never see from my right eye again.
At midnight, the head ophthalmological surgeon drove to the hospital and sewed my cornea back together with two tiny stitches. With my eyes both taped shut for ten days to keep me from moving them, I wondered if I'd ever perform on stage again.
Over the course of the next few months, I would make many visits to the doctors. There was always a new ophthalmologist waiting to see my eyeball. Apparently, the story had made the rounds. Each new doctor would peer through the machine to get a closer look, then lean back. Every single one of them would then say the same thing. "Wow. You are so lucky." The consensus was that if the plastic had cut just 3 millimeters to the left, I would have been blinded for life. But I wasn't blinded. I was lucky. I can see.
Since then, I have tried to never take my sight for granted. But honestly, I still do all the time. I think all of us with sight probably do.
The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind provides guide dogs free of charge to people with disabilities. It costs $50,000 to raise and complete the training of one guide dog. The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind has the highest possible (4-star) rating from Charity Navigator, and is a top rated "A" charity from CharityWatch.
Please click the button below and give what you can afford - even if it's just "five bones".
Thank you for your support.
Joel Mehr