Seaman Don Karkos was just 17 when he set sail to the North Atlantic aboard the USS Rapaden, a tanker whose mission was to skirt the German U-boats off the English coast and refuel Allied battleships. On a warm morning in the summer of '42, Karkos was on the Rapaden deck when there was a loud explosion. Twisted metal flew everywhere. Something heavy hit the boy above his right eye, cutting his forehead open.When Karkos woke up, he was in a military hospital in Iceland. Doctors told him he would never see out of his right eye again. They wanted to remove the right eye. Karkos said, no, might as well leave it in, just for looks. Since then, he has gotten over the loss of his right eye, got married and raised a family. He is now 82 years old. Just three years ago, doctors told him that even with all the modern medical advances, he would never see in his right eye. That scared this aging man. He already had cataracts removed from his left eye.
Recently, he was preparing a horse named My Buddy Chimo for an early morning workout in paddock H. Karkos was adjusting the buxton around the horse's chest when My Buddy Chimo lowered his head quickly, came up and butted Karkos. Hit him flush in the head, straight above his right eye, his blind eye.
The old man was thrown against the wall and tried to gather himself. "I've been in a lot of fights,'' he thought, "but I've never been hit that hard." Last time he was hit with such might was on that Navy ship 64 years ago.
Karkos got home that night, still a little woozy. He walked down the hallway of his Monticello home, rubbing his good eye. That was when he realized that his right eye had recovered. He can now see with both eyes.
Link & Image: RecordOnline
Tags: tDon Karkos | Vision | Eye
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