A special set of glasses has allowed a mother to see her newborn son for the first time. Kathy Beitz, 29, started losing her sight in grade school. She has Stargardt Disease, a genetic condition that causes macular degeneration. A blind spot takes up most of her vision. <<VIDEO
Beitz says, “It takes up pretty much, if I were looking at a person, their head and shoulders, that area, I don’t see any of that.”
But that all changes when she puts on her e-Sight glasses.
“You’re much closer; your facial features are much larger.”
So are her son’s. She’ll never forget seeing him for the first time.
“I remember his little mouth and his gums and his itsy bitsy tongue when he would cry. I would have had to imagine what he looked like and I’m used to doing that, but it’s a little bit heartbreaking having to do that for your own baby.”
At home, the glasses are big help.
“I never want to bend his little toes too much by putting on his socks.”
Beitz used to struggle with reading the fine print on packaging.
“I would basically have to be going in completely blind and not knowing the product I’m using on my child.”
With the glasses she can read labels, and bedtime stories. The glasses were developed by eSight, an Ottawa-based company.
Taylor West, an eSight spokesman says, “I think it’s a pretty life changing technology.”
The glasses have been on the market for about a year.
“What we do is capture an image and a video and present it in real-time with certain enhancements for people with low vision. This makes the eye preceive more than they would otherwise be able to.”
E-sight also helps customers fundraise, since the glasses cost about $15,000. (FOXNEWS)
