Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw, Texas, said Saturday he underwent eye surgery and was “effectively blind” for a month.
Crenshaw, 37, is a veteran of the elite navy seal force. He lost his right eye and sustained damage to his left eye in Afghanistan in 2012 when a bomb exploded.
“The explosion from 2012 caused cataracts, excessive tissue damage and major damage to my retina,” Crenshaw said in a statement. “There was always a possibility that the consequences of the damage to my retina would reappear, and that seems to be exactly what happened.”
According to Crenshaw, the retina was found to loosen on his left eye after he went to an ophthalmologist due to a dark, blurred face and that he underwent surgery on Friday.
“The operation went well, but I’ll be blind for about a month,” according to Crenshaw.
Crenshaw, a staunch conservative who sparked controversy at the national scene, was re-elected in November as a representative of Texas’ 2nd District in the Houston area.