A legally blind Ontario teen has been surprised with the gift of vastly improved vision, thanks to new technology and a corporate donor.
Cheyenne Field, 17, was born with optic nerve hypoplasia, a disorder that allows her to see only at short distances.
On Tuesday, she was presented in Toronto with a pair of eSight electronic glasses, a wearable device that uses a high-speed camera to capture whatever the user is looking at and display it in real time on screens.
Field had tried the eSight glasses two years earlier and loved them, but was unable to raise enough money to cover the $12,510 retail price.
Homebuilder Peterborough Homes heard about her problem and stepped in to cover most of the cost.
Field tried out her new glasses Tuesday at Casa Loma, Toronto鈥檚 famous castle that she had learned about in architecture class.
鈥淚t looks amazing,鈥� she said, after slipping on the glasses. 鈥淭here鈥檚 the gargoyles,鈥� she added. 鈥淥h my gosh.鈥�
鈥淓verything is so beautiful,鈥� Field said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 breathtaking to think that some kids won鈥檛 have a chance to experience actual sight because maybe their families can鈥檛 afford it,鈥� she went on. 鈥淚鈥檓 so lucky.鈥�
Justin Cogan, a vice-president at Peterborough Homes, said it was 鈥渋ncredible to watch someone see, essentially for the first time.鈥�
With a report from CTV Toronto鈥檚 Pauline Chan
