Blindness, Binoculars, And A Beautiful Bride
Recently, there was a photo shared on social media that caught my attention.
The photo was posted by Shannon Elliott. It captured a special moment at her brother Brandon’s wedding. The moment when Brandon looks down the aisle at his beautiful bride. He wanted to see more than a foggy blur, which meant he had to put away his pride. You see, Brandon is affected by LHON and is legally blind, so he needed a little assistance to see her beauty through his own eyes.
In the photo, Brandon, a very handsome groom, is holding a pair of binoculars up to his eyes. The smile on his face speaks a thousand words!! Below is what Shannon wrote about the photo.
“Just wanted to share this photo with you all.❤️ For those of you that don’t know… my brother went blind and lost all of his central vision in May of 2016. For the longest time, he was not comfortable talking about what had happened to him, not comfortable asking for help from people, not comfortable using visually impaired tools to help him see (especially in front of people), etc.
On April 14, 2018 he took a pair of binoculars down the aisle with him so he could “see” his bride walk down the aisle.😭 Be still my heart.
Be sure to visit our website: www.howhesees.org
I have limited VI51ON (vision) bracelets left in all sizes. If you would like to order one to support LHON research, click here! My goal is to send the biggest check I can to The LHON Project/UMDF at the end of November. Thank you for sharing my brother Brandon’s story. ❤️” – Shannon’s Facebook Post | 9/29/2018
Omg! Don’t you just love that!! It gave me all the feels! One thing is for sure, I will be using some fancy shmancy binoculars at my kid’s weddings!! Yup. They work pretty well for our type of central vision loss.
Shannon is such a wonderful sister — so be sure to check out her website! You can read Brandon’s story here — How He Sees – A Sister’s Insight Into Her Brother’s Sight Loss | Shannon Elliott (May 2018)
6 Comments on “Blindness, Binoculars, And A Beautiful Bride”
Leave a reply to Rosa Cancel reply
Hello! Here is a little about me. I am a mom of two fantastic kids, group fitness instructor, transformational speaker, blogger, podcaster, and advocate in beautiful San Diego, CA. Oh, and as my website name would suggest, I am also legally blind. Yes, I’m a Girl Gone Blind — and I’m here to tell you all about it!
Girl Gone Blind 
Hi there just wanted to tell you the link for the bracelets does not seem to work I would be interested in getting one could you possibly check into the link and let me know back thank you
Also was wondering I have retinitis pigmentosa with this bracelet also represent this disease as well? Talk soon, brendaSent from my iPhone
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Hello Brenda!!
Thank you for your message! I just checked the link and it does work. It takes you straight to the “shop” page for the bracelet. You just need to click on the bracelet you wish to order. If you are having any trouble, Please send a message to Shannon Via the contact button, and she will get back to you right away!
The money raised from this bracelet goes toResearch to find a treatment or cure for the condition Brandon has. It’s called LHON – It causes optic nerve damage, which leads to legal blindness in a matter of months. Have a great day! xx
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He should try ESight glasses . I love them .
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Hi Ross!
Great suggestion! Unfortunately, for most folks with vision loss from LHON – eSight does not work. I’ve tried them on several times (at CSUN AT Conferences) thru the years with no luck. Thanks for reading! xx
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Hello! I just wanted to thank you so much for your blog post. I have severe vision loss due to glaucoma and it makes me feel so good to find other people out there living their best lives. This is incredibly romantic. I’m glad he was brace enough to use his binoculars. We should never have to feel ashamed. Thank you sharing this!
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Hi Beckie,
I could not agree with you more! We should not be ashamed of our vision or what we have to do to see the world in a better way – i.e. binoculars, magnification, or whatever. Brandon’s bride is a pretty lucky girl, for sure!!! Romance and goosebumps are alive and well! Take care!! xx
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