Twelve-year-old Christopher Ward, Jr. has been legally blind since birth, but that changed recently when Ward was able to see the world – and the woman who brought him into it – for the first time.
Christopher was born with optic nerve hypoplasia, meaning the optic nerve in his eyes never fully developed before birth. His mother, Marquita Hackley told ABC News, “[Christopher] only has little light perception in his left eye, and very, very low vision in his right eye.”
“Something has to be up in his face, almost touching him for him to see it,” she continued. “And even though Ward wears glasses on a daily basis, they’re more for protection than vision because there is a strong possibility he could lose the little sight he does have if were to get hurt or hit on the face.”
Recently, Hackley learned of a new wearable technology called eSight, which is a high-speed camera that captures live video that is sent to a LED screen in front of the user’s eyes, allowing them to see with unprecedented visual clarity, according to eSight’s website. A few weeks ago, Christopher and his mom traveled up to Washington, D.C. to be able to demo the headset.
Hackley describes, “The very first thing he did was turn to me and say, ‘Oh, Mommy! There you are!’ And then to hear him say, ‘I saw my mom, and she was very pretty,’ was so heartwarming. And aside from pretty, just the fact he could even see me meant the whole world to me.”
This was the first time Christopher was able to see his mother in his entire life. Hackney says that it was both “overwhelming and exciting.”
She is now hoping to raise enough money to buy eSight for her son, explaining that the glasses cost $15,000 and her insurance doesn’t cover it. This technology will undoubtedly change Christopher’s life and enable him to attend regular classes in school and learn how to read and write. Chris currently uses a braille reader and writer to communicate through Text.
“Christopher is just a very loving kid, always happy and never complains about anything. I’ll do anything to help get him what he deserves,” Hackley said.
Watch this inspiring video of Christopher below and please SHARE his story with your friends and family on Facebook!
To help raise money for Christopher’s eSight, click here.
[Featured Image: YouTube/Marquita Hackley]
Legally Blind Boy Sees His Mom For The First Time is an article from: LifeDaily