Blind Man Given Gift of Sight

Pierre-Paul Thomas has been given the gift of sight. The 68 year-old was born with congenital nystagmus — a condition in which the eyes move from side to side involuntarily, as well as damaged optic nerves and severe cataracts (Credit). If Thomas had been born today, he would have a better chance of sight, but he was born in the 1940′s when Medicare was not yet available.

Thomas is like a toddler: his fingers were his eyes for 66 years. Now he has to discover everyday objects with his eyes. Thomas only recognizes objects through the feel of his fingers, which means everything he now sees he has to feel in order to understand.

Instead of seeing flowers bloom and rainbows in the sky, Thomas could only make out shadowy figures of grey and white. “All the time it was blurry,” says Thomas. “Everything was a shadow. It was very tiring.” (Credit) At 66, Thomas was badly injured in a fall down a flight of stairs. He fractured many of the bones in his face, including the ones around his eye sockets.  Doctors repaired the damage to his bones but when Thomas met with plastic surgeon Lucie Lessard about repairs to his scalp, her suggestion changed his life.

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