For the past seven years, Dante Harper hasn’t been able to see anything but ‘darkness’ out of her right eye.
The 26-year-old’s vision loss was caused by a retinal haemorrhage in 2016, after she suffered a blood clot.
But Dante, from Jackson, Mississippi, has noticed over the past year that she can see some light. And in January this year, she was shocked when she could see colour again.
When she told the news to her housemate, 24-year-old Joey, the pair decided to do a ‘test’ outside to see if Dante could walk around the street, by blindfolding her left eye.
Sure enough, Dante soon realised she could see the shape of trees and colours – and even read a street sign.
And a trip to the doctor in March confirmed that her vision is returning.
Dante, a call centre representative, said: ‘Seven years ago I lost my eyesight. I was told it was unlikely my vision would come back.
‘The past year and these last couple of months I have been able to detect light and then colour out my right eye.
‘I remember saying to my housemate – “I think I’m getting my vision back.”
‘I thought “am I crazy? Is my brain tricking me?”
‘But the eye doctor confirmed I’m right.
‘He’s not seen the vision come back on someone with my damage before.
‘My body is superhuman.’
Dante first discovered she had lost her vision when she applied for the Navy. She knew something was wrong when she asked the optometrist to turn the testing machine on, and the professional replied that it already was on.
The 19-year-old was then referred to an ophthalmologist in January 2016 who revealed Dante had experienced a retinal haemorrhage.
Recalling the event, Dante said: ‘They realised it was caused by a blood clot. They said if we hadn’t caught it now you have lost the eye ball.’
Dante later discovered she had a genetic disorder – a protein C deficiency, which increases the risk of developing blood clots. She was given Eylea shots to stop the bleeding in her eye and was forced to adjust to life with vision out of just one eye.
So, after coming to terms with her vision loss, Dante was shocked to start seeing colour and light earlier this year.
Doctors say the reason for this is because shunt veins are redirecting light to her retina.
She added: ‘It’s a relief – I’m not crazy. My body is doing a thing. It’s pretty cool.
‘Hopefully I can gain a little bit more vision back. But I’m thrilled.
‘Restoring vision is like printing brain matter.’
Dante’s vision out of her left eye is negative 3.50 but now her right is at negative 4.50 and she has ordered new glasses.
She adds that there are ‘a bunch of unknowns’ but will see her doctor again in six months to see if her vision has changed.
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