So… There I was minding my own business, preparing dinner. Was I in a rush? Yes. Was the oil too hot? Yes. Was it stupid? Absolutely. But it’s an ill wind the blows no good.
I had a feeling the skillet was too hot, so I made sure I had the lid handy. Perhaps I should have turned the heat down. Regardless, the oil started to boil the second it hit the pan. Ofcourse, that’s bad. So, to cool the oil down, I thought I’d hurry up and gets the steaks in. You can do some stupid things when you’re in a hurry. Normally I would place the steaks in the skillet so they fall away from the cook (me). This time I just slapped it in and, naturally, it fell toward me. As the steak fell into the searing, boiling oil, the oil ignited.
Let’s recap… Boiling, burning oil in an overheated skillet. Falling steak.
Splash
All I could think, when the burning oil reached my right eye, was “Ouch! Fire? Ouch! Get the lid!, Ouch! Stupid, Ouch!”. I think I actually saw the drop of oil careening toward my eye (I think they call it a false memory). Anyway, I put out the fire and ran to the bathroom. Sure enough, there was a distinct haze in the lower third of my vision in my right eye. I could also see a whitish area on my cornea, where the oil got me. I earn my living through reading and writing. So, I freaked.
At the Emergency Room they told me it was a minor injury. As they predicted, the mind bending pain subsided in a couple days. After three weeks of eye drops, and healing, I noticed something strange. I had decided that I should start wearing my glasses. I have had a mild astigmatism since the mid ‘90s. I don’t have to wear my glasses to read, and frequently don’t, but wearing them helps with eye fatigue and would have prevented this catastrophe. But when I wore my glasses I couldn’t focus properly. Naturally, I assumed my right eye was having some new problem that would shortly make me blind. That afternoon (I already had an appointment with the opthamologist that day) I mentioned it to my doctor. So she checked both my eyes. We were both amazed to learn that the trauma had actually corrected the astigmatism in my right eye, and had returned it to perfect 20/20 vision.
The down side is that I can't use my glasses, but I still have one defective eye. The upside is, I'm making fried chicken tonight ;^)
So, if you know anyone interested in investing in “Scott’s Steak & Lasik”, just let me know.
