38-year-old Lisa Reid from Auckland in New Zealand hadn’t been able to see anything at all from the age of 11 due to a tumour in her head pressing down on her optic nerve, but after a freak accident at the age of 24 she suddenly regained her sight.
Reid had been kneeling down to kiss her guide dog goodnight one evening when she hit her head on a coffee table. Thinking little of it she went to bed as normal only to find that when she awoke the next day her sight had been inexplicably restored.
“Nobody knows what happened or can explain it,” she said. “I can’t really find words to describe how it felt – amazing, fantastic. You can imagine not being able to see and then you can, you can’t really describe that. To see the world again visually is a gift.”
Reid took the decision to come forward with her story in an effort to help raise awareness for the Blind Foundation charity which helped her during the years in which she was unable to see.
“I’m grateful for what they’ve given me,” she said.
