Reid says he expects recovery after eye surgery

WASHINGTON — Sen. Harry Reid said Thursday he expects to recover vision in his right eye following surgery that will restructure broken bones around the socket and drain blood that has gathered in the front and back of the eye.

“I have some bones broken around my eye and on Monday as I understand it we are going to fix that,” Reid said in his first meeting with reporters since a violent New Year’s Day workout accident. An exercise band snapped into his face and threw him into cabinetry at his home in Henderson,

Reid, D-Nev., who has partially lost sight in the eye, is scheduled for surgery Monday at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Gingerly putting a finger to the parts of his bandaged face that took the brunt of the crash, Reid pointed out the bones he said doctors will reconstruct including one that has pushed in against his eye.

“They are going to move that back out,” he said. “Because of the injury there is blood in the front and back part of my eye and they are going to do reconstruction of that bone and drain that blood off the front part of the eye and the back part of the eye.”

Doctors “are confident I will be really quite good after that,” he said.

Later, he said: “I’m looking forward to Monday.”

Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, said he expects to be back on Capitol Hill on Feb. 2.

“They told me I’ll be down several days next week for obvious reasons, but there’s no reason I can’t come back to work a week from Monday,” he said. He said he was hopeful at that point of being back full time, although he added “I may not be doing everything as I did before.”

Reid, 75, said his left eye was unaffected, and has normal 20/20 vision.

In the right eye, Reid said he has pain.

“It is not like a spinal injury but I hurt my eye,” he said. “It hurts. I take Tylenol once in a while.”

Reid said he broke four ribs in the accident, but “they’re so meaningless that’s hard to believe.”

Following the accident, Reid’s office said he also suffered a concussion.

“To my knowledge I’m not getting treatment for concussion, although I do have a better understanding of football players and baseball players who have concussions,” Reid said. “No one has told me I had one but perhaps I had.”

Reid’s office afterward said there was nothing to clarify about the comment.

The press conference took place in a conference room that was carefully lit to avoid aggravating Reid’s eye, and was filled with four dozen reporters and photographers. In addition to questions about his health during a 20-minute session, Reid fielded questions about trade issues, Israel and how new-majority Republicans are running the Senate.

Reid said “at this stage” he still plans to run for re-election in 2016, and “doctors have been very supportive of my plans.” Pressed, he said nothing about the accident is changing his mind about pursuing a sixth term.

“At this stage I am fully intending to run,” he said. Later, he added flatly: “I plan to run.”

Advised against straining his eyes, Reid said he has been slow to resume reading and has been listening to audio books instead. “I have quite enjoyed it, to be honest. I never thought I would.” He said his daughter Lana has spent time with him and one of his sons was going to visit this weekend.

Asked if he was contemplating a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the exercise band involved in the accident, Reid said, “If I were, I wouldn’t be broadcasting it here.”

During his recovery, Reid said he followed with interest the Washington Nationals trade for pitcher Max Scherzer, and gave his opinion of the pre-Super Bowl controversy over allegations the New England Patriots used under-inflated footballs to win the AFC championship

“I can’t believe the National Football League with the billions of dollars they have, couldn’t at least determine how much air should be in the football and why it should be left up to the teams,” he said.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.