Help Get Jeff the Orcam MyEye 2!

One of my very best friends, Jeff,  was in an accident in 2009 - of no fault of his own- and emerged completely blind. This is his story, in his own words:

”March 4th 2009 was the day that changed my life forever. On this day I was passenger in one of my best friend’s car. We had just left Chicopee High school from a Varsity baseball meeting. I was back passenger in his car. We had a car full of people and the driver was texting so I shouted out to him to hit the brakes because we were heading for a tree .Instead of hitting the breaks he floored the gas and we went head first into a tree. After the accident I had a terrible head ache. Not knowing that the headache was an artery in my brain that had been partially severed. Got out of the car took a few steps and dropped right there into a coma, and I stayed in that coma for almost nine months.

I had five strokes on the way to the hospital. One of them severed my optic nerve which left me 100% blind. I suffered a traumatic brain injury and as a result suffer from short term memory loss, kind of like that movie “50 first dates.” I was lucky enough to be accepted to Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston.  Once at Spalding the therapists, nurses and doctors continued to care for me and although in a coma they still got me up every day, more than once, and put me through physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and swallowing.  I had a tracheotomy tube in my throat, a feeding tube in my stomach;part of my skull was removed. I had hours of therapy a day. I had to wear a helmet anytime I was out of bed.  A hockey helmet!

I had to learn everything, had to have tests done to ensure that I could swallow before being able to eat real food.  And once I did, my short term memory issues caused a lot of trouble as I couldn’t remember having eaten.  So I wanted to eat ALL the time. Pizza was my favorite thing (and it still is now).

 Everyone else in the car walked away.  I had a very hard time understanding that.  It’s 2010, not 2009.  I was in a car accident and I’m BLIND.  How can that be true?  A car accident, everyone else walked away from. And I can’t walk, I’m having trouble talking, my memory is not working well.  And all I want to do is just go to bed. One of the strokes affected my thalamus. That regulates your body temperature. Now I am freezing all the time.  Can’t feel my right side.  My right leg isn’t working? I feel pins and needles in my right hand, arm, leg and foot. My right side still feels like pins and needles all the time.

 I am not trying to be negative.  But, I would be a college junior. I always wanted to be a Math Teacher. Between being blind and the short term memory issues, math doesn’t seem to be the best fit for me.  Math with no calculator and my short term memory only remembers so much of the problem this is not looking like the best career path for me. I am not in school yet.  I have a few friends now versus the many I had in high school. I do a lot - rock climbing, I ski at PICO Mountain in Killington, Vermont.  I have gone with Global Explorers to Cape Cod, I am involved in a swimming program at Springfield College, in which I dive of a 10M diving board, I belong to the Y, I golf, bowl, I would love to play catch all the time, but now it is with a football that jingles (and definitely not as much as I’d like!), I have been able to play PS2, not alone, and only Tiger Woods Golf.  But, it beats just listening while everyone else plays.  I hope my story will empower you.”

He is truly the most genuine, kind, compassionate, remarkable soul and is a blessing to all who know him. The Orcam MyEye2 would significantly help increase his independence and quality of life. It is ”a lightweight smart camera that attaches to virtually any glasses frame. Using AI technology, it instantly and discreetly reads printed and digital text aloud from any surface, recognizes faces, products, money notes and more, all in real time. The intuitive device is operated by using simple hand gestures and has more than 20 voice-activated commands. It is designed for all ages, can be used with any level of vision loss and does not require an internet connection.” (Orcam.com) The cost is $4,000 and I would love if you’d help me and band together to provide him with this life changing device. He deserves it more than words can describe.


Jeff has a heart of gold, an “it’s not what I can’t do but what I can” attitude, and is truly an inspiration and an overcomer. Every little bit helps and is so deeply appreciated. ❤️


Thank you!

Emilea