KGUN 9News

Actions

Two Tucson brothers see color for the first time

Posted at 10:24 PM, Jun 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-04 01:32:38-04

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Dan and Matt Coody are both public servants. Dan is a firefighter and paramedic, his younger brother Matt is an EMT. Both of them are colorblind.

The Coody brothers say they found out at a young age that they could not see color well.

"I almost didn't pass kindergarten because I couldn't get the colors right," said Matt.

To be clear, both men can see color but say it is dull or have trouble distinguishing certain ones.

"Stoplight green looks white to me," said Dan.

It has even affected them in their occupation. While responding to a forest fire Dan got lost because he could not easily find pink colored markers attached to the trees.

"I couldn't determine the flagging line and the route that my crew had taken in the trees and I actually ended up an entire ridge line over from where I needed to be," he said.

Friday afternoon, we met them at one of the most colorful places in Tucson: La Placita Village. That is where they put on a special pair of glasses from a company called EnChroma. The glasses help colorblind people see better and distinguish color better.

On a count of three, both men put the glasses on at the same time.

"Brighter," said one.

"Things are sharper," said another.

It takes a few minutes for their eyes to adjust to the glasses.

They notice all the colors on buildings in La Placita, colors they did not see before putting them on. They notice small seed pods in a tree they could not see before. They notice colors on their children's clothes. Matt notices the eyes on both of his daughters.

"You have such pretty eyes," he told one.

"You got something I've never seen before, you can keep those eyes now, don't let them turn green," Matt said to his three-month-old.

Matt says he never wants to take the glasses off. The next thing he wants to go see is an Arizona sunset.

Matt's wife Meghan Dando nominated the brothers as "dad testers" to try the glasses as part of a Father's Day colorblind awareness campaign for EnChroma. The Coodys get to keep the glasses for free. They retail between $270 and $470.