Factual error: At a scene where Ron is in the Veteran's hospital doing physical therapy, it is supposed to be 1968, but the song playing is "American Pie." The song didn't come out until 1971.
Factual error: During the closing credits, two songs appear misspelled: "Hace un ano": The correct spelling is "Hace un año" - okay, not all keyboards have the Spanish "ñ" - , and Meleguena. This one is waaaay wrong: The correct spelling is Malagueña.
Factual error: In the late sixties, when Ron is in the Brooklyn Veterans Hospital, the radio plays "American Pie." This wasn't recorded until 1971.
Factual error: Kovic is in the Marines. "Choppers" are called "Helos" in the Marines, and a "Medic" is called "Corpsman". Kovic uses the Army terms.
Factual error: In the opening scene when the kids are playing "War" in the woods, Ron Kovic as a child is carrying a replica of a Beretta M9 handgun. However, Beretta M9's weren't even designed until the 1980s.
Answer: He doesn't see anything. He hears his blood dripping back into the makeshift machine the doctors have set up and realizes it isn't working properly. In the previous scene he was told that if they couldn't get the machine to work, he would never walk again.
No, in the previous scene he was told that if they couldn't get the machine to work, he would lose his leg. He was already told he would never walk again.