I was not going to put this here but it was actually my wife who has been arguing with me that suggested it, so here it is.

As many know, I lost 60% of the vision in my right eye during my military service. That was over twenty years ago and I have adapted. I can hunt, drive, work, with my glasses I see just fine, I do ok.

The reason I have the loss of vision is that I have a piece of shrapnel buried in my brain that is pushing on my optic nerve. It is stable and has not moved in all those years. They did not remove it because it would cause too much damage to surrounding tissue to reach it.
They have a new surgical procedure that has been successfully performed 3 times with 1 failure. That's one in three.
I could get this surgery and possibly regain up to 45-60% of my vision.
This is brain surgery, I have a chunk of metal in my brain that has been there a very long time.
I could die of course as with any surgery, but the one that gets me is that I could end up completely blind in my right eye rather than partially blind. Or I could gain vision.
Some one please tell me what you would do if given the choice. The surgery is covered, cost is not a factor. It really scares the hell out of me to be honest.

I was not going to put this here but it was actually my wife who has been arguing with me that suggested it, so here it is.

As many know, I lost 60% of the vision in my right eye during my military service. That was over twenty years ago and I have adapted. I can hunt, drive, work, with my glasses I see just fine, I do ok.

The reason I have the loss of vision is that I have a piece of shrapnel buried in my brain that is pushing on my optic nerve. It is stable and has not moved in all those years. They did not remove it because it would cause too much damage to surrounding tissue to reach it.
They have a new surgical procedure that has been successfully performed 3 times with 1 failure. That's one in three.
I could get this surgery and possibly regain up to 45-60% of my vision.
This is brain surgery, I have a chunk of metal in my brain that has been there a very long time.
I could die of course as with any surgery, but the one that gets me is that I could end up completely blind in my right eye rather than partially blind. Or I could gain vision.
Some one please tell me what you would do if given the choice. The surgery is covered, cost is not a factor. It really scares the hell out of me to be honest.

Faith in God means “belief and trust”. I do have faith and thus “believe” that He answers when called for help or asked for direction, and I also have ‘trust’ that He is clear in His response. He promised “peace that surpasses all understanding”. So, after I’ve done my research and posed the problem to Him, I wait. If I have peace, I proceed. If not, I don’t. This works for me. You have received some great advice from others here and much information to consider.
You indicated that you said ”no” for now. So, I will pray for His peace for both you and your wife so that both of you may know you made the right decision.
Thank you for the freedom we all enjoy due to your military service and sacrifice. God bless.

Thank you. See here is the thing (so everyone can better understand). This is a clinical trial, the surgery is free if I participate in the trial. I was contacted through my DR. because there are a limited amount of people with my exact situation who are still alive to test the procedure on.
Right now this procedure is not available through the VA, or any military hospital due to government regulation. If the clinical trial is successful, it would be. So the decision is not just for myself. Sorry I was not clear on this earlier in my post, I just found out myself through their second pitch.

Thank you. See here is the thing (so everyone can better understand). This is a clinical trial, the surgery is free if I participate in the trial. I was contacted through my DR. because there are a limited amount of people with my exact situation who are still alive to test the procedure on.
Right now this procedure is not available through the VA, or any military hospital due to government regulation. If the clinical trial is successful, it would be. So the decision is not just for myself. Sorry I was not clear on this earlier in my post, I just found out myself through their second pitch.

Thank you. See here is the thing (so everyone can better understand). This is a clinical trial, the surgery is free if I participate in the trial. I was contacted through my DR. because there are a limited amount of people with my exact situation who are still alive to test the procedure on.
Right now this procedure is not available through the VA, or any military hospital due to government regulation. If the clinical trial is successful, it would be. So the decision is not just for myself. Sorry I was not clear on this earlier in my post, I just found out myself through their second pitch.

I have given this a lot of thought, I have listened to all of you who have given me your opinions on the matter and I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for caring enough to even do so.

I am going to participate in the clinical trials. I will be telling my wife of my decision when she gets home from work in the morning. Other than the normal risks of any surgery all I stand to lose would be total blindness in my right eye which I experience every time my sinuses swell up anyway. I may gain relief from the blinding headaches, I may regain a significant amount of my vision. All worth while on their own to me. That is not why I have decided to do it though.
I can not in all good conscience walk away from something that could mean so much to wounded soldiers. I just can not do it. This procedure has far reaching applications beyond that I am involved in including currently inoperative brain tumors. I can not walk away from this knowing that I have the ability to help. That is just who I am.
Thank all of you for caring enough to help me with this decision. Thank You.

Thank you. We were not put on this earth to be agents of our own self-fulfillment. We were put here to help each other. I am not an extraordinary anything, I am just a man that has an ability to help others due to what I have gone through in the past. I have often wondered in my earlier years why I had to live when all I wanted to do is die with my men, on the battlefield. I spent years of my life dealing with survivors remorse, PTSD, debilitating pain. I can not help but think, that maybe this is why.
I flat lined three times but those whiskey's just would not let me die, they brought me back from the dead three times, and I lived against all odds. 23 or so years later my unique injuries can possibly help treat soldiers today who suffer traumatic brain injury in combat, give them a better chance at a better quality of life than I had through medicine. Just as I did at 17 and signed up for the Marine Corps. this is no longer a decision, it is a duty, a responsibility. ooh rah!