The gift of sight for Jason Buell
Hello. First and foremost: I am a loving and devoted husband to my gorgeous wife Kristen, and the father of two beautiful baby girls (Remington and Kinzley.) I am a hard-working and dedicated father who simply wants to experience and enjoy every moment with my incredible family. We live in Fort Wright, Kentucky located just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.
I have been 90% blind since birth. The "average" person's visual acuity is 20/20, while mine is 20/400 without correction. That basically means that what the average person can see from 400 feet away, I can see from about 20 feet away. With best correction, my visual acuity is 20/300, meaning that what the average person can see from 300 feet, I can see from 20 feet. My blindness is caused from a condition known as Oculocutaneous Albinism, Type II. The condition is not curable, but my vision is stable and not degenerative.
I write computer software for a living. As a result of sitting in from of a computer all day, I have a lot of headaches and back pain from sitting hunched forward in front of my screen. I use a 27” monitor, and magnification software, but it still doesn’t provide the assistance I need to really see. As I think about my two beautiful babies (16 months old and 2 months old), I think of them growing up, playing sports, getting involved with gymnastics or dance, and all of the wonderful and amazing things they will do as they grow. I also think about how much of that I will miss because of my limited vision.
Since I am legally blind, I do not drive. Thank God, I met my incredible wife, who has normal vision, and is able to drive and assist me when my vision can’t. But still, I think about all of the things I might miss along the way, even though I am there with my girls. I think of the details, and the little things. I think about actually seeing that amazing goal when the girls play soccer. Seeing my girls spike the volleyball, or watching them perform the perfect dance on stage. I think about the simple things, like watching the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark. And of course, I think about sitting back and actually reading a good book, comfortably, without being hunched over in front of a magnifier or reading on the computer where I can zoom in.
Of course, there is a lot of technology available in today’s world. There are closed-circuit televisions, binoculars, hand-held magnifiers, and all sorts of cool things. But very few give the legally blind truly “useable” vision. Very few give a father the ability to sit in the crowd and watch his girls kick butt and become the team’s MVP.
Recently, I learned of a company based out of Canada that makes a device specifically for someone like me. The company is called eSight Eyewear . They make a set of glasses that are measured and fitted specifically for each person. Doesn’t sound that special, right? Well, it is. These aren’t just any glasses. They give a blind person like me vision like the rest of the world. They project an image into a pair of glasses, in real-time, and have a controller that allows the wearer to actually zoom-in, change the contrast, and actually “see”. What do I mean exactly? I mean I could be the one sitting in the stands, from 400 feet away, and with this device, could literally zoom-in on the face of my beautiful daughters, and actually SEE them like everyone else. This isn’t a camera, and it’s not a pair of binoculars. This is a pair of eyeglasses with some pretty cool technology attached.
I think of the day that I can finally experience the world and all it’s amazing treasures and wonders, in high definition, in real-time, and truly and legitimately SEE. Yes, I can look at pictures online, yes I can use my camera to zoom in, and yes, I can watch a video after the fact. But I can’t experience life like others do, in real-time, as it happens. Please don’t get me wrong, I absolutely do NOT take for granted the vision I do have. I am tenacious and driven and work harder than just about anyone. I have overcome incredible challenges, and have made a successful career. I have a beautiful family, and I am immensely thankful for the countless blessings I do have. I just want to SEE, like everyone else does. The eSight device might finally give me that opportunity. Like any brand-new technology, they don’t come cheap. The device is about $16,000 or so, and I’ll have to travel to Nashville to actually try them in person. But I think about how truly life changing a device like this would be for me, and I am inspired.
Did I mention that these glasses also have an HDMI input? No, we’re not talking Netflix here, although, that would be pretty cool. We’re talking about connecting my computer to these things, and no longer needing a 27” monitor and magnification software. We’re talking about me being to write code, and actually SEE the content like someone who isn’t blind.
To you, this may not sound like much; but to me, it sends chills down my spine. The thought of experiencing the splendor of life like everyone else… It’s inexplicable!
I have private insurance, and will be working with them to help pay for the device, but since these are new, and aren’t traditional medical equipment, there isn’t much available in terms of financial assistance. I decided to turn to GoFundMe and see if someone out there might be willing to help a legally blind father of two finally SEE.
You can learn more about this amazing technology at the following links:
eSight Eyewear Website
eSight Eyewear on YouTube
