Blind teen can see again
Peterborough Homes donates eSight electronic glasses
Like a fairy tale come to life, a legally blind Toronto teenager got to clearly see the city’s most famous castle for the first time via modern technology.
Cheyenne Field ,17, was surprised with apairo fe Sight electronic glasses, thanks to a donation from Peter borough-based home builder Peterborough Homes, in a Tuesday afternoon ceremony held outside Casa Loma.
“I was like, ‘Holy smokes! How did you guys keep this away from me?’” said Field.
Field, who was joined by her grandparents (including tearful grandmother Sandra Smith who gave her a big hug), aunt, brother, cousin, and friends, immediately started crying right before she placed the electronic glasses on and turned around to take in the castle’s details. “It looks amazing,” she said, looking up. “Whoa. Oh my God. There’s the gargoyles.”
Field, who could previously see only up to six feet away, first tried on a pair of eSight electronic glasses (priced at about $12,500) two years ago and started a GoFundMe page but only reached $600.
“I felt awful. I was like, ‘Nobody really cares that there’s other people suffering with vision impairment,’” she said.
Now her faith in humanity has been restored especially since she also got a Make-A-Wish trip to Newfoundland in July. “People do care,” said Field. Added grandmother Smith: “Seventeen years and now she can see exactly what we look like. She’s been back and forth from Sick Kids (hospital) since day one. (I’m) just so happy. I just want to cry but happy tears.”
Field, who was born with a condition known as optic nerve hypoplasia and also suffers from a brain tumour, first visited Casa Loma in Grade Three and became intrigued about the castle’s supposed ghosts.
She read about it again more recently.
“I took an architecture course last year,” she said.
Field, who is in her last year of high school, wants to study traditional animation at college, but also loves to sing.
Following her own VIP tour, Field and her family were also enjoyed dinner in Casa Loma’s garden and was given tickets to a symphony concert there Tuesday night.
Jeff Fenton, eSight’s director of outreach and communications, said Field now has the latest version of their electronic glasses -eSight3, which were just issued in February -- for life and also a dedicated eSight ambassador.
“It’s been called by TIME as one of the best tech of 2017,” said Fenton, whose Toronto company has offices in Ottawa, elsewhere in North America and Europe.
“There’s a high speed, high definition camera in front of the glasses, and that’s capturing what’s in front of Cheyenne and then our algorithm is instantly enhancing that footage.”
A spokesman for Peterbourgh Homes, which has built more than 3,000 houses in 25 communities over the last 40 years, said the company was touched by Field’s story that they came to know through eSight’s social media campaign.
“We just thought it was an incredible opportunity to just give someone the gift of sight,” said Justin Cogan, the company’s senior vice-president.
NOTE: Watch video at www. thepeterboroughexaminer.com.