A firefighter who suffered from color blindness broke down on seeing the American flag correctly for the first time.
Douglas County, Georgia, firefighter Spencer Caradine, wasn’t aware that he had red-green color blindness, but his co-worker, Jordan Gardner, helped the 21-year-old realize that there was a problem with his sight, during a hike when the young man could not see something Gardner pointed at.
“I never thought it was a problem,” Caradine said, “I guess my colors were just different than everyone else’s.” After taking a colorblind test, it confirmed what Gardner suspected about Caradine’s colorblindness. Thanks to Gardner’s and the other firefighters generosity in buying a pair of EnChroma glasses for Caradine, he can now see the world differently.
Gardner presented the glasses to Caradine on the 4th of July as a special gift. Caradine said, he was “overwhelmed, excited, and a little confused on what was going on.” He said, “They told me it was a get together for the 4th of July,” he shared, “and a bunch of people from the department showed up. We had a big breakfast and then after that, they told me what was really going on. I didn’t really know what to think or say to them when they presented the glasses.”
Watch the emotional moment below.
EnChroma glasses use a unique technology which broadens the color spectrum for the color blind people wearing them. Gardner also shared a clip on Facebook showing Caradine’s reaction on wearing the glasses for the first time. The video shows Caradine moving outside and seeing the red, white and blue colors of the American flag, the way he responds to it is priceless.
“It was insane. It was crazy. It blew my mind,” Caradine said, “It was so much different from what I’ve ever seen. It was more beautiful.” Caradine explains why the American flag was the first thing he wanted to see, he says, “I wanted to see the American flag because I guess I never truly knew what the American flag really looked like,” he said, “I saw my red, which [apparently] wasn’t red at all. The flag is something I love and if anything was going to change, that would be the first thing I would want to see. The fire engine just made it even better.”
Caradine continued to be surprised when Gardner took him to a baseball game and they watched the fireworks together, he got emotional as he wore his new glasses, and saw a whole different color spectrum he never saw before. “He got emotional, I got emotional, and by the time it was over the entire section we were sitting in realized what was happening and there were about a hundred people crying,” Gardner shared on Facebook. “This has been the most incredible, humbling experience of my life and I’m so glad I got to be apart of it!”
The EnChroma glasses have made a world of difference for the color blind, and this story of Caradine’s reaction on seeing the American flag is melting our hearts because it is truly the most beautiful and blessed flag ever.