I wake up in the hospital after eye surgery
My eyes bandaged
Only seeing darkness
My heart starts beating
My body tenses up
I start to break out
The nurse is holding me down
With all the strength I have
I push her away
I tear the bandages off
Suddenly I feel relaxed
I know I can see.
Noah Aster had Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis, the most serious reaction to drug imaginable. 90% of his body was burned, inside and outside. As the disease progressed, the eyes were tragically affected. Noah lost almost all vision in his left eye during a procedure that went wrong. His eyes can no longer make tears due to Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (many changes took place in his body) and that puts his eyes in danger of infection. Noah has undergone numerous surgeries and medical interventions. The poem published here was written after he woke from a cornea surgery.