Life

Blind 12-Year-Old Sees Mother for First Time Thanks to Revolutionary Glasses

Christopher Ward Jr. also got the chance to watch some classic 'SpongeBob.'

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Complex Original

Thanks to the limitless wonders of modern science, 12-year-old Christopher Ward. Jr was recently gifted with the chance to see his loving mother for the very first time. Ward, who's been legally blind since birth, recently traveled from Forest, Virginia to Washington D.C. to try out a new eSight headset. According toABC News, the demo of this hands-free miracle device reaped immediate rewards for Ward and his mother.

"The very first thing he did was turn to me and say, 'Oh, Mommy! There you are!'" Marquita Hackley told ABC News of the eSight demo last week. "And then to hear him say 'I saw my mom, and she was very pretty' was so heartwarming." However, Hackley notes, the fact that her son was able to see her at all "meant the world" to them both. In addition to seeing his mother for the first time, Ward also got the chance to sneak in a classic SpongeBob SquarePants episode.

Ward, who was born with optic nerve hypoplasia, occasionally watches TV at home but is forced to press his face directly against the screen for even the slightest visual response. According to Hackley, he currently possesses just a "little light perception in his left eye" and "very, very low vision in his right eye." The family is now raising funds to eventually purchase an eSight for Ward, due to the fact that the device's tagged price of $15,000 isn't covered by insurance.

To give Ward this potentially life-changing ability, eSight utilizes a high-speed camera capable of taking live video that's immediately transferred to the LED screen in front of the wearer's eyes. This feat, eSight, says allows users to experience "unprecedented visual clarity." Those interested in booking a demo of their own can find more information here.

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