Matt receives the gift of sight
“I can't explain how amazing it is to be able to see my mother's face, and she is as beautiful as I remember her,” said Matt Ivan.
The gift of being able to see and do everyday tasks is what Matt Ivan from General Albertspark is able to do now after he got the NuEyes Pro glasses with the help of people from across the world.
It was thanks to the generosity of many people that Matthew Ivan, also known as Matt, from General Albertspark was able to acquire his pair of military-grade NuEyes Pro glasses.
This is making his life a little bit easier.
Having been born visually impaired, he was diagnosed with a rare condition, retinitis pigmentosa, at the age of 11. The young man was legally blind when he was 17 and underwent cataract surgery when he was 21.
Seeing his parents’ faces again after a long absence gave him a sense of relief.
Matt told his father, “You need to shave.”
“I can’t explain how amazing it is to be able to see my mother’s face, and she is as beautiful as I remember her. I just can’t express what I am feeling and what this means to me in words,” he said.
Life-changing technology
The RECORD published a story about Matt in 2021 who was raising funds for a pair of military-grade glasses.
WATCH: Help give Matt the gift of sight
Within a year, he had raised enough money to purchase his glasses. Before getting the glasses Matt went to his optometrist to test a few brands and he chose the one he felt most comfortable with.
His first experience with the military glasses was in 2020, and he said the appointment was life-changing.
Now that he has the glasses, he can wear them for an hour daily.
“I am able to see people’s faces, to read and to actually see the visuals of the video games that I play.”
He also managed to read past the fourth line on the Eye Chart, where usually he can just make out the very first line. Matt has to do eye exercises daily with the glasses to help stimulate his eyes.
“So if I put the glasses on, I can see, but when I go close to something I get double vision and I need to stimulate my eyes to put the two images into one image,” he said.
These glasses have ‘TV screens’ in front of the eyes and with the aid of cameras and buttons, he could zoom in and out of the text and people’s faces.
The glasses have amazing features like being able to access the internet and Netflix. It can also freeze images.
“Let’s say I saw a price tag on a shirt, but I did not get the price then I can actually freeze the photo to see the price instead of going back or closer to the object. It also gives me the option to read words on a dark background instead of a white background. So I will see the text in white and the background is a solid black colour. This is more visible for me and easier to read.”
Matt can also talk to the glasses to activate certain functions.
“In short, the glasses are like a high-powered camera or binoculars. Spending too much time with the glasses on can make his eyes tired so that is why an hour a day is enough.”
Thank you is not enough
As with most technological advances, the chance for Matt to improve his vision, for him to gain employment and contribute to society while being able to become financially independent, came at a huge price.
“I feel so overwhelmed in a good way. People from across the world contributed to help make my life easier. Thank everyone who helped make this a reality,” he said.
His parents said they would always go the extra mile for Matt and look for the best available opportunity for him.
“His pain is our pain,” they said.
Matt also thanked his family and his girlfriend, Kate de Villiers, for all their support, care and love.
Matt’s story
Being blind, he had no option but to adjust to life with constant progressive vision loss. Retinitis pigmentosa is a rare degenerative eye disease that causes severe vision impairment.
Symptoms often begin in childhood, which include decreased night vision or in low light and loss of side vision (tunnel vision). There is no cure.
“The disease causes tunnel vision and a way to understand this is to take an empty toilet roll holder and hold it up to your eye. What you see is how Matt sees the world, but without clear vision. The tunnel will get smaller and smaller. Matt’s tunnel is the size of a straw,” his mother, Michelle, explained.
Despite his disability, Matt has excelled academically. He had no peripheral vision and had poor central vision while at school.
“Something as simple as walking into the class was daunting as he couldn’t see obstacles or the chalkboard,” said Michelle.
Despite these challenges, he matriculated in a mainstream school with the option to study for a bachelor’s degree.
After matriculating, he worked for a stationery supplier, pulling orders and packing them for customers and maintaining the storeroom. It reached a point where he could no longer read orders.
He enrolled at College South Africa and did an intro to web design course, which he enjoyed and did very well in. However, the fine detail of web design was very straining on his eyes and the simplest work took a long time.
In January 2020 he enrolled at SA College of Hair, Beauty & Health, doing a course in holistic (therapeutic) massage therapy. He passed his latest exams with three distinctions in anatomy, business management and professional conduct.
“When I started learning about science and how the human body works I realised how much I enjoyed it,” said Matt.
He got his degree in Swedish holistic massaging and, when the time is right, he wants to start working as a massage therapist.
“No matter what, keep a positive attitude and don’t let your struggles keep you down. Find a way and make it work,” are his words of advice for others who feel like there is no solution to their problems.
