In 1998 I suffered a detached retina in my right eye. I literally woke up one morning to find that half of the vision in that eye was completely black. Apparently my retina was slowly peeling away. Had it not been for an emergency operation by one of Britain's top eye surgeons I would now be blind.

Thank God, I can see.

I've been warned that with retinal detachment there is always the risk of re-occurrence. Needless to say, I've put my days of full contact martial arts behind me. Now, I value all that I see even more.

We should never take our sight for granted.

I am in awe of the great visual work here on Flickr.