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Woman regains sight thanks to help of generous doctor

When Emilie Peil started losing her eyesight, her optometrist helped her get it back thanks to new technology.

A local optometrist has granted the gift of eyesight for her legally blind employee.

Emilie Peil suffers from macular degeneration, a common eye condition and the leading cause of vision loss among people 50 years and older.

"I've had it for 18 years and what it's done is made things very blurry," Peil described.

Her optometristm Dr. Nancy Amir, began to treat Peil after her diagnosis.

"She has a blur in her central vision," Dr. Amir noted.

"I thought I was useless and [Dr. Amir] has taught me, ‘You are not useless," Peil said.

The doctor saw a patient with a sense of humor, filled with potential, and offered Peil a job at her Low Vision Clinic. Since then, Peil’s worked at there for more than 15 years.

With each passing year, her vision has worsened. But at the end of 2017, hope was in sight.

A sales person stopped by the clinic to demonstrate how eSight glasses work. They are the latest eyesight technology that allow legally blind people to see.

Peil was filled with emotion the first time she put the glasses on to be tested.

"I cried. I cried because I was like, ‘I can see that very clear,’” Peil recalled.

There was only one problem, the glasses cost $10,000.

"eSight was doing a promotion to allow the employers to help their visually impaired employees with purchasing the eSight glasses at a discounted price," Dr. Amir said.

The discount knocked the price down to about $7,000.

"I knew it was the right thing to do,” Dr. Amir said.

"I was absolutely stunned, and I thought, ‘She wants me to have better sight,’” Peil said. “I was so overwhelmed."

The glasses have since boosted Peil’s confidence, restored her independence, and helped her capture precious family moments. For Peil, the simple things in life are now in sight.

“I feel extreme gratitude, that thank you doesn’t cover it.”

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