A blind man who lost his sight over the course of his life to a degenerative eye disease just received the gift of a lifetime.
The first Minnesotan and 15th person in the country to receive a bionic eye, Allen Zderad, 68, was able to see his wife and grandkids for the first time in more than a decade.
“Yeah,” he exclaimed, as his wife of 45 years, Carmen Zderad, slowly came into focus.
He then fell silent, overcome with emotion. Husband and wife shared a tearful embrace.
“Ten years?” Carmen asked.
“Ten years, but I still kiss her with my eyes closed,” Zderad said while laughing.
A truly phenomenal accomplishment of modern medicine, the bionic eye allowed Zderad to overcome the damaging effects of retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye disease that progressively deteriorates the part of the retina that turns light into vision.
"The retinal prosthesis implant has taken over 25 years to develop. Hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of people to bring this forward to this point," said Dr. Raymond Iezzi, a Mayo Clinic retinal surgeon and clinical ophthalmologist who personally chose Zderad to receive the bionic eye.
Otherwise known as "Second Sight Argus II," the bionic eye took an estimated $300-$500 million to develop.
The grandfather of ten told NBC King 5 News that, while he remembers the faces of his oldest grandchildren, most of the others he’s never seen.
"I have a lot of fun with my grandkids and family. I think it would be good to recognize when they come in the room, and observe their growing and things like that,” Zderad said.
“My grandkids in Oregon love playing hide-and-seek—they don't have to hide anywhere except for a corner of a room.”
Well hide-and-seek is about to get way more exciting now.
Watch the video below to see the heartwarming moment when Zderad sees his wife for the first time in years.