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Musician Shares Gift of Sight with Texas Teen

Singer, songwriter and musician Robert Cook normally shares his gift of sound with mostly cheering crowds.

"When I perform music, the thing is, you hope that people cheer and clap. It doesn't always happen, but when it does—I love it!" Cook said.

And now, thanks to eyeglasses that are made by a California company called NuEyes, Cook is able to not only hear the crowds, but see each person's face.

"You have magnification where basically you're zooming in on what you're seeing just like with a regular camera," Cook explained.

To pay for the glasses, Cook's daughter started a GoFundMe account where friends, family and fans raised money.

"And some left over to start paying it forward, and for me that's kind of the most important thing," Cook said. "This was a gift, a blessing for me. There's no way to do it without paying it forward."

And he's paying it forward to 13-year-old Parker Jones.

"Just go ahead and put them on like you would regular glasses," said NuEyes President and co-founder, Justin Moore, to Parker while handing him his new pair of glasses. "So now you've got a full computer on your head."

Parker started losing his vision two years ago. His sight issues are caused by a genetic condition called Stargardt Disease.

His mom, Samantha Jones, said he was born with the sight impairment but didn't develop the symptoms until a few years ago. She said Parker started having trouble reading, wasn't making eye contact and couldn't see close up.

"Glasses make bigger," Parker said to command the voice-controlled NuEyes glasses.

He zoomed in to read the letters on the wall.

"A, D..." Parker read aloud.

"Last time we were at the eye doctor, there were letters twice that size that he was looking at that he couldn't see at all," said Parker's mom, Samantha. "I had the same emotion – I was thinking this is not fair, this is not right – and to see him do that so easily within minutes of using them is just amazing."

And for Robert, after years of sharing his gift of music he now is sharing his gift of sight.

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