BLIND WOMAN REGAINS SIGHT USING TECHNOLOGY

ARGUS II FITTED INTO HER EYE

Fran Fulton is 66, and she’s been fully blind for about 10 years. A few weeks ago, all that changed.

“When they ‘turned me on’ so to speak it was absolutely the most breathtaking experience”  — Fran Fulton

FULTON WITH HER FAMILY

Fulton suffers from retinitis pigmentosa – a degenerative eye disease that slowly causes light-sensitive cells in the retina to die off. Over the course of several years she lost her sight, and for the past 10 years she hasn’t been able to see anything at all. But in late July, Fulton was outfitted with a system called the Argus II. A pair of camera-equipped glasses are hooked up to electrodes implanted in her eyeball, which feed her brain visual information. Using the system, she can now see the world again. What’s the experience like?

“When they ‘turned me on’ so to speak it was absolutely the most breathtaking experience,” she says. “I was just so overwhelmed and so excited, my heart started beating so fast I had to put my hand on my chest because I thought it was going to pop."