This is Bill Reed, a 66-year-old bodybuilder from Batavia, New York state, who happens to be colour blind.
And this is Bill’s big sister, Paula Hanson.
Happy birthday to the most generous, kind-hearted person I know that I'm proud to call my sister in law and friend! :") You have your mother's kind heart! We love you, Pau, Pau!!!!Posted by on Sunday, August 14, 2016
Bill was born colour blind, making everything blend together into a kind of “mud” or brown colour, according to Bill’s wife Pam.
So for Bill’s 66th birthday, after all those years of not seeing properly, Paula came up with the idea of getting her brother some Enchroma glasses – which use a special lens to correct red-green colour blindness.
With the whole family, including Bill’s daughters Justine and Miranda, 20 and 22, chipping in, they were able to surprise him with the present.
And it led to this truly incredible reaction.
You’re not the only one who found that emotional. For Pam and the couple’s two kids, it was rare to see Bill in that state.
“He has a very hard tough outer shell so for him to break down and cry and get emotional, was pretty emotional to me and my girls,” Pam said.
“When he put them on, it was extremely emotional for us all because we knew by his reaction, something changed for him in his sight because he described the colours as really, really bright and being neat!
“With the glasses he was able to see the different shades of the leaves on the trees,” she said.
In the video, Bill is clearly astonished after putting the glasses on and is unable to speak for a minute or so. Eventually he starts checking the glasses against his regular vision, and said: “I haven’t seen that forever!” – with Pam clarifying it was his first time seeing colours.
Pam and Bill are very grateful to Paula for finding the glasses and coming up with the idea, and the family have some special trips planned with them.
“We are excited to take him to Letchworth State Park here in NY for him to see the colour of leaves changing, the brilliance of lights on a Christmas tree, and the aw of a rainbow across the sky. Many sights that most of us take for granted,” Pam said.
And Pam, who was Bill’s work-out buddy before realising “the biggest muscle in his body is his heart” and marrying him, also has plans to take the glasses on holiday.
She said: “Bill and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary on May 15, 2018. We plan to take a trip somewhere – not sure yet where – but we definitely will pack his glasses to take with us!”
