Three Atlanta men get to see a whole new world thanks to some special glasses

ATLANTA — Three colorblind Atlanta-area men got to see color for the first time Friday afternoon with special glasses now sold here in Georgia.

Channel 2's Craig Lucie was with Kevin Llarena, Karl Olsen and Scott Adams when they first tried out the glasses Friday and their eyes were opened to a whole new world.

“I would have to ask people what color I’m wearing to make sure my outfit is alright,” Llarena said about his challenges with color blindness.

“I was in third grade, and I had to color something that was brown, and I grabbed a ... forest green crayon,” Olsen said.

“The way I see it, when you're colorblind, everything matches,” Adams said.

More than 3,000,000 people are diagnosed with color blindness each year, but a company called Enchroma sells glasses, which retail in the $300 to $400 range, that can help people see color for the first time.

“Before we carried them, there were no Enchroma glasses in (the) state of Georgia,” said John Chafatelli, who owns Select Shades at the Battery Atlanta.

Chafatelli’s store sells the special glasses, and Lucie watched as the three men tried out a pair.

The men told Lucie once their eyes adjusted, they started seeing a difference.

“I also couldn’t see those clouds earlier,” Llarena said, pointing to the sky.

“There’s a band of clouds I can’t really see without the glasses on,” Adams said.

The color of a purple balloon outside the store changed color for the men.

“I came in thinking it was navy,” Llarena told Lucie.

“I can tell the difference between blues and purples now,” Olsen said.

The men told Lucie they were skeptical at first, but Llarena said he's now excited.
"Man, I've been missing out," he said.

When Lucie asked them if they would be buying the glasses, they said absolutely.

One of the men said he couldn’t wait to go home and see the color of his wife's and children's eyes.

Cox Media Group