Rep. Crenshaw can’t see ‘much other than lights and shadows’ after emergency surgery on his left eye

Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw is still struggling in the aftermath of his emergency eye surgery, admitting that he is having a hard time seeing.

Crenshaw, 37, a Navy SEAL veteran, went under the knife on April 9 for emergency surgery, which was to take care of the deterioration of his left eye following being wounded by an IED in Afghanistan in 2012.

That explosion also resulted in the loss of Crenshaw’s right eye, which he wears an eye patch to cover. 

Crenshaw had his first follow-up for the surgery on the damaged retina last week, which went ‘very well’ he shared.

‘To our relief, my retina was still in place during my follow-up appointment,’ Crenshaw said in a statement on Friday. ‘I can lift my head up again and no longer have to position myself face-down, which is a relief.’

At the same time, however, Crenshaw admitted that he isn’t ‘out of the woods yet.’

‘I still cannot see much other than lights and shadows, basically, as I am still in the early stages of my recovery,’ Crenshaw continued. ‘I am not sure how my vision will be in a few weeks, but I am hopeful and confident that it will return to normal.’

Crenshaw also detailed parts of his surgery, which included putting a ‘silicon buckle’ around his retina and injecting a gas bubble to keep the retina in place, which is the temporary cause for his seeing struggles.

He will not be able to fly for the next six weeks to avoid causing the gas bubble in his eye to expand. He also will not be posting on social media or conducting interviews. 

Crenshaw went on to thank his doctors and nurses at the VA in Houston, as well as solicit audio book recommendations from the public.

In a statement, Crenshaw said the surgery went ‘very well,’ but he isn’t ‘out of the woods yet’

The surgery was needed after Crenshaw noticed ‘dark, blurry spots’ in his vision earlier this month.

‘The prognosis I received Thursday is obviously very bad. Tara [his wife] drove me to emergency surgery on Friday morning at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston and was by my side the entire time,’ Crenshaw said in a statement after the surgery.

‘The surgery went well, but I will be effectively blind for about a month. I want to especially thank the phenomenal team of doctors and nurses at the VA who took such good care of me,’ Crenshaw added. 

Crenshaw wears an eyepatch after losing his right eye when a bomb detonated in Afghanistan during his third deployment in 2012. 

Crenshaw lost his right eye after an IED blew up in Afghanistan in 2012, which also damaged his left eye to the point where the surgery was needed on it a couple of weeks ago

Although he can still see from his left, he explained the blast also caused a cataract and extensive damage to the retina, and there was ‘always a possibility’ that the effects of the injury would resurface.

‘Anyone who knows the history of my injuries knows that I don’t have a ‘good eye,’ but half a good eye,’ he has said. 

 The Republican was reelected in November to represent Texas’ 2nd Congressional District in the Houston area.

His congressional offices in Washington, D.C. and Houston will continue to operate and will still be taking calls from constituents while he recovers, Crenshaw said. 

The congressman made national headlines in 2018 when comedian Pete Davidson made fun of his eyepatch on Saturday Night Live.

Davidson’s joke was widely criticized, but Crenshaw appeared on Saturday Night Live alongside Davidson a week later to accept the comedian’s apology.