The Perfect Gift.

my name is Emma. i am 27 years old. i live in Dublin Ireland with my dog charlie. i have straight, long, blonde hair and blue eyes.

when i started school, at 5 years old, my teachers gave me pages to colour in. each piece of the picture had to be a certain colour. if it had the number 2 in it then it had to be blue. and if it was 7 then it had to be yellow.

as i handed in my page coloured to my best ability,the teacher told me it was completely wrong. i was so confused. i tried to do what i was told to do. the teacher then explained to me that red was missing and some of the other colours were missing (like orange), or put in the wrong spot.

she sent a note home for my mother to read. i didn't know what it said (i couldn't read yet). the next day my mother went in to see my teacher. my teacher told my mother that she thought there was something wrong with my vision.

my mother brought me to an optometrist. they examined me and did some tests with me. after a few weeks we went back in to see what they discovered. they told me i had Protanopia, which was a severe form of colour blindness. it removed my ability to see reds. it was passed down to me from my great grandparents.

doctor:
"i'm so sorry miss Kelly, but there's nothing i can do to help your daughter. it is a very rare form of coloured blindness. there's not much research about it"

mother:
"is there anything i can do to help it or help her in life?"

doctor:
"no i'm sorry. there's nothing anyone can do. all you can do is be the best mother that you can be."

i got bored of listening to their conversation. so i went off to play with the paintbrushes and the paper. i liked to draw a lot. i still like it a lot.

one year for Christmas, my mother told me that she got me a special gift for me. i thought it would have been an art set. i have always loved art. but when i unwrapped my present, i realised it was way too small for an art set.
it was a white box and on the top it said EnChroma. i had no idea of what it was.

i took off the plastic and took off the top of the box very carefully. i could see the excitement in my mothers face out of the corner of my eye. when i took off the top of the box,there was a brand new pair of glasses just sitting there. they looked so perfect. they were big, black and square shaped. i already loved them.

mother:
"well, put them on!" my mother shouted with thrill.
i put them on carefull that i didn't break them. i could tell that they meant a lot to her. as soon as i placed them on my head,i got overwhelmed with emotions. i couldn't believe it. i could see reds.i bursted out into tears. for the first time in my life, i could see red. i felt so happy.

"this is what other normal people see on a daily bases." i thought to myself. all i've ever wanted in life was to be able to see colours like everyone else. now i can draw, colour and paint to my full potential. im so happy.