Technology helps mom who lost vision regain independence
Click here for updates on this story
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — This Mother’s Day, new technology is helping a Kansas City mom who suffers from a rare disease affecting her vision. KMBC 9 talked to her about how a special device is helping her regain her independence and confidence as a mother.
Ashley Mizell loves being a mom. “I really don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have those three boys, like, pushing me every single day,” she said. Motherhood became more difficult though, when she started losing her vision two years ago. “It was just getting darker and darker in my eyes and I had no idea what was going on,” she said.
Mizell was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called sarcoidosis and is now legally blind. It was a devastating blow to the mom of three, who worked as a professional photographer. “I just didn’t think I was gonna be a good enough mom anymore because I couldn’t do what normal moms do, like drive their kids or read them a book or do anything,” she said.
Hope came in the form of a small device. “(It) weighs less than an ounce,” said Dr. Bryan Wolynski, a low vision optometrist. It’s called the OrCam MyEye, and it clips right to Ashley’s glasses. “What it does specifically is it has a camera, and the camera takes a picture and then speaks the visual information that it sees to the person wearing it,” said Wolynski, who works as a consultant for OrCam.
It recognizes faces, like Mizell’s children’s, and reads text out loud. Wolynski says it’s often emotional for patients when they first try it. “They’ll either cry from the emotion of being able to read again or recognizing their loved ones, or the other emotion is just laughter,” he said. “Just laughing that they can do something that they’ve just been wanting to do.”
Mizell says it’s been life changing. “I have more independence with this,” she said, and it’s helped her regain confidence as a mom. “Since I’ve had this I’ve been able to do more for them and with them,” she said. “I can still do things. I can read a book. I’m being successful with remote learning with my kids.”
Now, she embraces motherhood in ways she couldn’t see before losing her sight. “I realized that it’s not about seeing your kids, it’s about finding different ways to still enjoy your kids and appreciate them,” she said.
Mizell has a large social media following which she uses to inspire others. You can follow her on Instagram and TikTok, @blind_momofboys.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
