Baby with impaired vision sees mom clearly for the first time after being given a pair of glasses.
The baby named Leopold Reppond was diagnosed with a rare disorder called Oculocutaneous Albinism (OCA), which causes changes in the skin and hair. Because of this disorder, he is also not able to see vividly.
In a simple event, however, things changed and suddenly the future appeared to be a whole lot brighter for the 4-month-old child and his family. The touching moment was captured in a video, which has garnered thousands of hits since it was first posted.
"But today he received his glasses...and can now see the world clearly for the very first time," writes David Reppond, Leopold's father, in the description of the YouTube post.
The Video
In the clip, Leopold was seen sitting in a high chair, when his mom placed a pair of small specs on him. He looked up and suddenly his lips turned into a beautiful smile after seeing his mother up close and clearly for the first time.
In the 30-second video, Leopold looked up to his mom more than once, with his smile gradually becoming bigger in every glance. The room seems to be filled with lots of positivity and joy as the baby coos and grins.
The original video was posted on YouTube on April 2. It has since obtained more than 500,000 views as of this writing.
David also posted the video on his Facebook page and has been viewed almost 21,000 times.
A Parent's Joy
Leopold's mom Erin says that the second time her baby looked up, he flashed a face of recognition, a smile that they have never seen before. Although Leopold is generally a happy baby, the smile during that moment was something Erin considers different for her to see.
In the past, David said he would let Leopold see the world by making the baby touch things including his beard.
The bond between parents and their child is truly amazing. In a similar event in 2015, a legally blind mother was able to see her son for the first time with the help of a vision gadget called eSight glasses.
More About OCA
Aside from OCA affecting the color of the skin and hair, it also decreases those of the colored iris and light-sensitive retina of the eyes. As a result, patients with this condition have reduced sharp vision, uncontrolled eye movements and increased sensitivity to light.
OCA is inherited from parents with a mutated copy of the gene. The condition is rare, with only 1 in 20,000 people in the whole world being born with it.
