Legally Blind Teacher at O’Hara Sees Brighter Future, Thanks to Technological Breakthrough

By

Ed Allen of Springfield
Ed Allen, a legally blind faculty member at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, has received the gift of sight, thanks to an eSight device. Images via Peg DeGrassa, Digital First Media.

After spending most of his adult life virtually blind, Cardinal O’Hara High School teacher and Morton resident, Ed Allen, is able to see again, thanks to the help of an eSight device, writes Peg DeGrassa for the Springfield Press.

Legally blind from Stargardt’s disease since he was 15, Allen’s peripheral vision meant he had to put things right up to his face to see them. Over the years, he learned to compensate by recognizing people and students through their voices.

Then Allen was gifted an amazing opportunity last month, when he put on eSight3 glasses for the first time. eSight goggles replicate sight by capturing everything the user is looking at with a camera before enhancing it on two OLED screens placed in front of the user’s eyes.

While the device has a hefty price of $10,000, which is not covered by insurance, Allen managed to gather half of the needed funds through individual donations. The other half was donated by a Delaware County company that wishes to remain anonymous.

“I tried on eSight glasses, and I could see again! I could see my mom and my beautiful daughters and my wonderful fiancée for the first time in my life,” said Allen.

Read more about Ed Allen in the Springfield Press by clicking here.

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