- [Andy] I left my house September 28th, 2011. And the boys were in the front yard,
tossing a ball around. Nothing was different. That's all I remember.
When I woke up, I had a tube down my throat. I couldn't see. I was assaulted.
I was beat to death. The doctor said that whoever assaulted me squashed my optic
nerve. And I thought to myself, "Hah. Whatever. You'll just open me up,
reattach the wires and lights come back on again." And he put his hand on my shoulder
and said, "I'm sorry, Andy. You're going to be blind forever."
♪ [music] ♪
Family is probably the most important thing to me in my life.
- [Little Andy] That's why he hasn't been talking, that's why he's been...
- [Christy] I know. - Love to be around them,
love to hear their voices.
- I love you mom. I love you dad. - Shut him up.
- Family is a perfect thing.
That's what you did back in the day. - That's where he gets...
- I live with my wife Christy. We've been married 21 years. God bless her soul.
- These are just wedding shots and then one of us kissing. "You may kiss
the bride." Yeah. It was a fun day. We had a lot of fun that day.
- Honest answer.
- Oh, really? Now is the time for honesty, honey?
- Would you do it again? - Oh, absolutely.
- Even blind? - Even blind.
- I'm blessed. - Oh, whatever, dude.
- The hardest thing for me being completely blind is not seeing my family
every day. For me to learn to accept, "You're never going to see again,
Andy. You're never going to see your wife, your children, your dog." Taken away
in the blink of an eye. It's not fair. My doctor said, "Wait a second.
I heard about this company that's coming out with this device
to help you see again."
- [Meesa] My name is Meesa Maeng, and I am the Assistant Director of Low
Vision Research here at The Chicago Lighthouse. The current study that we have
is working with testing the safety and efficacy of the BrainPort device.
The BrainPort V100 is a sensory substitution device for people who are
totally blind. So instead of using the eyes to see, they're using their tongue
as a platform to take in information.
- I was trembling with anticipation. When I put the BrainPort on for the first time
and I had to process, "Why is my tongue buzzing?" And Meesa, the woman who I work
with, said, "Andy, let it feed into your head. What are you looking at?
Remember, you don't have eyes anymore." And I felt this buzzing on my tongue,
and I felt the impression. And then I saw my hand. For the first time in five years,
I saw my hand. Something that small is huge. And the first person was little
Andy. He shook his hand back and forth and he said, "Dad, you can see me?"
He said, "Hey, pop." It had been five years since I've seen my kids.
When I saw my family for the first time that day...
- Hello there.
- Actually you guys [inaudible] a little bit.
- That was cool. He grabbed my hand.
- It's just... It's a perfect thing.
- I stick my tongue out at you.
- Looking into her two eyes here.
♪ [music] ♪
- It's incredible. Those boys got big heads.
- That we do.
- Yeah, but they have [inaudible]. Want to bring it back?
- Mm-hmm. - Okay.
♪ [music] ♪