Oxy-Iso Colorblindness Correction Glasses, Slipstream frame

 

Seeing in color is something that so many people take for granted. I know I do, even though my very own father, who I live with, is colorblind. I don't think about it, every day, how amazing it is to be able to see the difference between green and red or yellow and blue. I just shrug it off. I say 'Yeah, it's a pretty candy apple red' or 'No, that's a puke green' without thinking about the fact that all my father can see if gray, different shades of gray.

And I didn't think about it, not one bit, until the first time my sister and I came across glasses that could supposedly treat colorblindness. It was around Christmas time, actually, but not this Christmas. We saw them and thought they were so cool. They were experimental and we were so excited, waiting to see how much they would cost and saving up to buy a pair for him. But when they came out, we were floored by the price. We knew, as much as we dreamed about it, we would never be able to afford to buy a pair for him.

Since that time, my sister and I have both gotten into product testing, as you can see by the other posts on this blog. We never really thought about the glasses until my sister came across the listing again. It was one of those moments that she thought 'Well, the worst they can say is no'. So, she decided to pitch the makers of the glasses that could treat colorblindness. We never really expected a response, especially not a positive one. That glasses are very expensive and we both know there's already commercials out thee for them. Why would the company want a product testers review on them?

Then a miracle happened.

They said yes.

o2Amp said yes. I remember her calling me, so out of breath and sounding like she was crying. I was scared until she started laughing and just kept saying over and over again 'They said yes, Tabi. They said yes!'. I couldn't believe it until the day they arrived. I thought that this wouldn't happen. But then, while opening packages, I came across one that I hadn't ordered. It was the glasses. And, just by chance, my father had to decided to go to work late that day.

I don't know how to describe it, the look on his face the first time he put on those glasses. My sister wasn't there to see it but I was. I was sitting across from him in a red robe, a color he hadn't seen in so long that he had forgotten what it looked like. He hasn't seen color since he was a child, since before he went into kindergarten. Putting on those glasses, I could tell that he didn't know what to look at first, my red robe, or the green bento box I was reviewing, or the bag of chips beside him in a yellow bag.

But his eyes kept coming back to me. I have never seen the look in his eyes that he had when he looked at me wearing my red robe. He just stared at me. Then he asked me 'Is that really what red looks like?'. If you've never had a moment that wanted to make you cry and warmed your heart at the same time, you don't know what you're missing. It's absolutely amazing. He treats his glasses like they're precious gold. He's so scared that he might break them because he knows that we could never replace them.

The glasses came with a hard case as well as a soft bag for protection. When he's not wearing them, he very carefully puts them in their soft bag before setting them in the hard case. They have a position of honor on top of our television. In our house, it's the safest place for them. He, the man who swore he would never touch contacts, has already talked to an optometrist about having a pair made. He wants to be able to experience the world in full technicolor all the time. I know now that I will never take seeing color for granted again. It's an amazing to gift to have.

So, in conclusion. Thank you, o2Amp. Thank you so much for giving my father the best present he's ever had. We couldn't be anymore grateful.