Yesterday, Senator Harry Reid talked to reporters about his eyesight — he injured himself while exercising on New Year’s Day this year — on two occasions. Both times, the message was the same: The Senate minority leader, who will retire next year, might never see out of his right eye again — something he has said before but seems increasingly certain about now. “You know, in life, you don’t always get what you want,” he told CNN. “And I wish I hadn’t hurt myself.” Reid, 75, added that surgery might advance to a stage where it could restore complete sight to him. “We’re not there yet. Maybe someday.”
He said it was possible he could go partially blind shortly after the injury happened, but also that his doctors were “very hopeful” that he would improve. However, he said at the time, “this isn’t anything that’s a slam dunk.” In April, he told Fusion, “I can’t see out of my right eye. And that’s okay, I can live with that.”
“It’s affected my stability,” Reid said on CNN Tuesday. “I’m getting better. 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.”
Earlier in the day, he showed off new glasses with clear lenses and round frames; he’s been wearing sunglasses since early 2015 to keep out distracting light.
