5th-grader sees mother for first time with high-tech glasses

BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. (WPVI) -- A high-tech vision system has given a 5th-grader in Virginia his first chance to see his mother clearly.

When Chris Ward was born, his eye muscles weren't full developed, so his eyes have never been able to focus properly.

He writes with a Braille typewriter, and does his math homework on an abacus.

Chris went to Washington, D.C., recently to try out E-sight, high-tech glasses that can electronically correct some vision problems.

"Pretty cool glasses, huh?" said Chris when he first used them.

"When I saw my mom through those glasses for the first time, I was smiling," he continues.

"I just broke down and cried," said his mother, Maquita Hackley.

Chris also read words on a page.

"It was great to be able to actually experience that, and know that there's something out there that's actually able to improve his vision," says Hackley.

However, he may not get E-sight permanently, because the family's medical insurance won't pay the $15,000 cost.

Chris's classmates are planning a fundraiser at school, and his mom is doing one at church and another online to raise the money.

She says he's already a good student, but is capable of so much more, and deserves the help.

"He's never complained about it. He's picked up on it so well," she says of his adaptation to legally-blind life.