Eye for an Eye, Truth for a Truth

Loreille Machover was born during the Great Depression. So when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his first fireside chat to a national radio audience, the Machover’s learned that their newborn daughter required special needs. Loreille was born a mildly retarded female, whose life took a dramatic bitter turn when she went blind at the tender age of nine. Her family gave her up before her tenth birthday. Loreille has lived in many different places throughout New Jersey with varying degrees of success.

No residential placement quite felt like home until she moved to a family owned and operated boarding home in the 1960’s. This boarding home prides itself on outstanding homespun food and the sense of family that is instilled in its residents. Chef Pedro keeps the stainless steel kitchen humming and he rarely receives a complaint. A nurse is on staff for medication administration, arranging medical appointments, and patching up boo-boos. There is even a swimming pool on the gated premises. Although seldom used, the boarding home even keeps a small library of important literary works. Every summer, the boarding home goes mobile and the clients are treated to a week long vacation.

By the late 1980’s, sixty three year-old Loreille had lived in this same boarding home for the last quarter century. Taken care of by wonderful people, Loreille considered herself content. As her social worker, I wasn't about to change that. Although her roots go back to the days of family radio, the world had undergone an enormous transformation. Since scientific advances had been made in restorative eye care, the boarding home saw fit to arrange Loreille a comprehensive eye consultation at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Wills Eye name has stood for excellence in eye care for more than one hundred and fifty years. Upon examination, Loreille was considered a prime candidate for corrective eye surgery. Doctors were optimistic that Loreille’s vision would return after half of a century absence. Loreille could still recall the colors of the world from her childhood so it was no wonder that she consented to the surgery.

After the surgery, her caretakers hovered by her bedside waiting for the time when nurses could carefully remove the patches of bandages. Tension filled the room as the bandages were lifted. The miracle awaited.

“Can you see?” asked the male proprietor of the boarding home.

“Can you see me?” begged his wife.

Laying on her back, Loreille slowly opened her chestnut brown eyes. She raised her head and quizzically peeked over the foot of the bed. The world must have slowly came into focus because Loreille did not say anything for the first minute. Loreille recognized the voices emanating from her hospital room but something bothered her.

“Yeah, I can see ya both.” muttered Loreille as if she saw a sight for sore eyes.

“What is it then? Tell us. Why are you looking at us like that?”

Loreille told it like it was. The axiom an eye for an eye a truth for a truth ruled. “Wow. All these years, I thought you two were African-American.”