Special glasses let legally blind man see wife walk down the aisle
— -- A legally blind man was finally able to see his wife of 15 years thanks to technology.
Andrew and Kelli Airey wanted to celebrate 15 years of marriage with their closest 25 family members and friends on April 30.
It was perfect timing as Andrew, 37, who was born with Stargardt's disease, a condition that causes eventual central vision loss, had just been outfitted with a pair of eSight glasses.
"I see objects. I just don’t see details," the Conway, New Hampshire, father of three told ABC News. "So if you look through a camera and adjust the lens so that it's out of focus that’s what I see."
After fundraising online for about a year, Andrew was able to afford the glasses, which cost $10,000. The glasses include "a high-speed, high-definition camera that captures everything the user is looking at," according to the company's website.
Years before Andrew would depend on a variety of magnifying tools and glasses to help him navigate his world. He also memorized his home and relied on his wife, who's a practicing nurse.
"As soon as I put them on...I could read a clock at 15 feet away. It was amazing," Andrew recalled.
Andrew, who was also previously color-blind, said his second wedding day was one he'd never forget because he could see it vividly.
A video of their heartwarming nuptials went viral on Facebook earlier this week.
The father gushed about seeing his "daughters and being able to see their dresses and their faces and their jewelry."
"And when my wife came down the aisle...when she came to me, I could see her eyes, her ears, her nose," he added. "She had sparkles in her veil. These are things that you don’t see when you’re blind."
It was especially important for Andrew to make the day special for his wife, whom he calls his "rock."
"You could imagine there are some challenges," he said, noting that his wife has to be the sole breadwinner since the former Verizon manager cannot work any longer. And all of his "specialty optics" are not covered by insurance, he said. "They're all out of pocket."
"She’s been a great covenant spouse," Andrew added. "For better for worse, she’s been that person for me. She’s not a complainer. I know she genuinely loves me for all the right reasons and that’s very special."
