After living his life as a blind man due to a degenerative eye disease, 68-year-old Allen Zderad was able to see his wife again for the first time in 10 years, thanks to receiving a bionic eye.
Zderad thought his days of looking into his wife’s eyes were long over. Due to his deteriorating eyesight, he was also forced to walk away from his career as a chemist, but 20 years after the developing disease began to affect his life, the grandfather of 10 is finally able to see once again.
Sixty electrodes have been implanted in one of Zderad’s eyes by doctors, which send signals to the eye from a camera built into his glasses. Those signals are relayed directly into Zderad’s optic nerve.
The Minnesota man tested out his new rig this week, and was finally able to gaze upon his loving wife’s face for the first time in 10 years. No doubt, Zderad will be very happy to catch a glimpse of his kids and grandkids, too.
Spotlight on #ArgusII patient, Allen. He sees his wife for the first time- grab the tissues! #RPAwareness #BionicEye http://t.co/dThmHGLzbK
— Second Sight (@Argus_BionicEye) February 18, 2015
Though Zderad can’t quite see fine details, currently, he can make out shapes and forms, which is all that is required to “see” his wife again. Sweetly, Zderad told folks at the Mayo Clinic:
It’s easy. She’s the most beautiful one in the room.
Man ‘sees’ wife first time in 10 years. #BionicEye implant offers hope of new vision. http://t.co/PvvWG6dilC pic.twitter.com/wc6iJ19KJL
— Mayo Clinic (@MayoClinic) February 23, 2015
It looks like Zderad’s golden years are really shaping up. What a marvelous accomplishment.
H/T: fox13now.com | Featured image: Twitter
Send to Kindle
