HOUSTON – Payton Kervin, 10, of Cleveland, Texas, has never seen Christmas quite the same way most of us do -- until now.
I don't see the right color all the time,” he said.
Payton is red-green color blind, meaning he only sees a fraction the colors the rest of us can. Things that are grey look pink and he has trouble distinguishing shades of many other colors.
Payton's mom, Morgan Kervin, discovered a company that makes special glasses to help people who are color blind see more of the world. The company was having a contest to give away a pair of the $600 glasses.
Payton submitted a video describing what he thought his future would look like.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” his mom asked.
“A cop, but it would be hard, because you have to fill out reports about what color the car is,” Payton answered.
He won the contest. KPRC 2 News was there the first time he tried on his new glasses.
The glasses use a special filter to separate narrow bands of color. Colors appear brighter and more saturated. Users said their color discrimination is faster and more accurate.
“The light comes in and it changes and tells the brain, 'This is how you're really supposed to see the colors,'” Morgan Kervin said.
Christmas will be a lot more colorful for Payton and his family.
“I'm really excited and looking forward to wearing these glasses,” Payton said.
At first, he didn't see a big vision change, but the company worked with him to get the strength of glasses that made the biggest difference.
The glasses are not a cure and some vision insurance plans do provide a general benefit that can be applied to any prescription lenses.