Life

The First Thing This Blind Woman Saw Was Her Son

Chances are, when you were brand new to Earth, the first people you saw were your parents. But what if the first baby your parents ever saw was you? That's exactly what happened to Kathy Beitz, a blind mother who saw her son for the first time on the day he was born. Beitz has been legally blind since she was a child, but she was able to see her son thanks to an innovative new device called eSight glasses, wearable tech that sounds like it came straight out of a sci-fi movie.

Getting these glasses for Beitz was no small feat: They run at $15,000 each, and the pair the company gave her was a loaner for the day, acquired after her older sister Yvonne Felix (who is also legally blind and the mother of two children) petitioned on her behalf because she wanted her sister to experience the feeling of actually seeing her son on the day he was born.

Felix said in a statement to the Huffington Post:

"Kathy got to see what my struggles were and the things that I missed out on and the things that were hard for me as a parent. Something like being able to see your baby when it’s born -- I didn’t get that experience. When I first tried the glasses, I had a 6-year-old and a 2-month-old, so I still never had those first few moments. When Kathy tried the glasses and they worked for her she was five months pregnant, and there was this clairvoyance in both of us realizing that she never has to experience [not seeing her baby]. She would have a baby, she’d know what he looks like, she’d fill out the birth certificate."

She has since uploaded the incredible video and begun the campaign #MakeBlindnessHistory to raise money so that her sister and other legally blind people can afford the remarkable eyewear and share the same experience.

Watch the incredible video of Kathy meeting her son below:

Image: YouTube