I'm having a moment today. Yesterday Jari came home from school with the results of his annual medical tests. Seems that he's a right healthy ole soul...except for one thing. My son is color-blind. :-( It breaks my heart. And even though I know that he must suffer from a very light version of it, he still is not able to experience the colorful world that I enjoy. When I exclaim "Look at those pretty red flowers, Jari!" he is not able to see those pretty red flowers which bring me so much joy. His world is shadowed by muted versions of everything I see. And it just makes me feel sad to know that he hasn't been able to fully experience the world due to his vision.
I looked up some colorblind tests online to test it out myself last night. He truly could not see the same view as I could. It is a reality. My son is colorblind. Which form he has and to what degree are tests that they will not complete until he is nine years old. Probably something to do with them needing to know their colors, shapes, etc before the tests are performed. But my son knows his shapes, and he could not see the red square. He could not see the red circle. He could only see the yellow shapes nestled next to the red. I cried.
My dad is colorblind. He has a fulfillng and satisfying life, and with the exception of a few troubling areas due to color, he leads a complete life. It is not going to restrict my son from living a full and happy life. But it will restrict him from seeing all the beauty in everyday things. As I was researching it online last night, I learned it is most often hereditary, passed on mostly to males due to the XY chromosome, and passed down from the mother. Great, nothing like a little mama guilt, heh? (No, not really, but still, ya know?!) So, two boys, two genetic disorders...I am doing great! yeah, really!
Here's a little something I found that is a simulation of what it's like living in the world of a color blind person. I am going to assume Jari has the mildest form, which is what he sees if you use the deutan button. Have a look and see why I feel like crying...In red or blue or green?
http://www.tsi.enst.fr/~brettel/DaltonDemo/DD08.html
Or this site, where you can put in your own picture to see what a color blind person sees.
http://vischeck.com/vischeck/vischeckImage.php?&img1=uploads%2F1205322294_orig.jpg&img2=uploads%2F1205322294_sim.jpg&simType=protanope&imageCached=1205322294_orig.jpg&imEngIP=vischeck.homeip.net
Morning, afternoon, evening or night...life is always happening. Let me tell you what's happening in mine.
3 comments:
My hubby is colour blind and he has always managed just fine. I sometimes have to confirm the colours of wires when he is doing electrical work, but this is just an extra precaution. I'm sure your son will manage just fine and he will see the beauty of everything but in his own way!
That's actually pretty neat from a scientific point of view. I've never really thought much about color blindness before, but it does make me think of the philosophy question that relates to "is red really red?" It really illustrates how things are different from each persons' point of view.
And I'm sure he'll be just fine. I can understand your distress as a mother, but he'll enjoy his richness of the world in a way different than your own.
I'm sorry. With Kaeden in his own world, I know it must hurt you to think that Jari also has a different reality for a different reason.
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