Brothers with a rare eye condition visit LEGO Land
Here's a heartwarming story from LEGOLAND Windsor Resort. Young brothers, Lucca and Sonny Oxenham from Bromley, are living with a rare eye condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa. They were invited by LEGOLAND Windsor Resort to become the first children in the UK to test life-enhancing glasses made by eSight in the park's new immersive walk-through attraction, The Magical Forest in LEGO® MYTHICA. The boys were amazed as they were transported through a swirling vortex of blinding lights into the mysterious forest where they could also use the amazing Augmented Reality (AR) on their smartphones where LEGO creatures came to life before their eyes.
YOUNG BROTHERS WITH A RARE EYE CONDITION HAVE LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE AT LEGOLAND® WINDSOR RESORT
Amazing glasses technology helps 14-year-old Lucca Oxenham and his 11-year-old brother Sonny 'see' one of the UK's best-loved theme parks for the first time
The teenagers from Bromley suffer from a condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa and will lose most of their central vision over time
The brothers are the first in the UK to use the life-enhancing eSight devices, allowing them to fully experience the new Magical Forest attraction, which opened to the public last week.
Thursday May 12: The LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort has given two London brothers with a rare eye condition the experience of a lifetime after amazing glasses technology helped them see the new Magical Forest attraction in full for the first time.
Lucca (14) and Sonny (11) Oxenham from Bromley suffer from a condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa which affects just 23,000 people in the UK and causes central vision loss, meaning they can only use their peripheral vision in everyday life can use.
The brothers, who still have around 15-20% central vision, are LEGO® fans and were invited by LEGOLAND to be the first children in the UK to test life-enhancing glasses made by eSight in the park's new immersive walk-through attraction The Magic forest in LEGO MYTHICA.
Moving video footage shows the awe-inspiring moment Lucca and Sonny put on their specially designed glasses to have a life-changing experience in which their central vision improved so much that they could fully see the countless life-size LEGO creatures and experience models in The Magical Forest attraction for the very first time.
The boys were amazed as they were transported through a swirling vortex of blinding lights into the mysterious forest where they could also use the amazing Augmented Reality (AR) on their smartphones where LEGO creatures came to life before their eyes.
Daniella Zanelli, Lucca and Sonny's mother, said: "It was such an emotional moment for the whole family to see Lucca and Sonny fully see LEGOLAND for the first time in their lives. They visited it when they were younger, but this was a whole new experience and they loved meeting the creatures in the Magic Forest. As their mother, I am so grateful that the eSight devices have given them the opportunity to enjoy and experience things they love, just like every other teenager.”
Lucca and Sonny were born with the rare eye condition and are currently taking part in trials of the wearable eye device as part of eSight's partnership with the Royal Society for the Blind Children. It is hoped that the devices will be widely available in the future to help children with more than 20 eye conditions, including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and Stargardt's disease.
Gregory Ogorek, COO and President of eSight International, said: “eSight is a life-changing technology that helps visually impaired people enhance and enhance everyday lives, impacting more than 3,500 people around the world. We are excited to partner with LEGOLAND to offer Sonny and Lucca a once in lifetime experience.”
The Magical Forest is the latest addition to the Resort's multi-million pound LEGO® MYTHICA : World of Mythical Creatures, featuring the UK's first flying theater attraction, Flight of the Sky Lion.
Along the way, the brothers encountered a host of new weird and wonderful creature models and incredible habitats built by the resort's expert model makers, which took 452 hours to create using more than 80,000 LEGO® bricks.
Speaking about the boys' visit to the resort, Helen Bull, Divisional Director of LEGOLAND Windsor Resort, said: "We were delighted to partner with eSight to welcome Lucca and Sonny to our new Magical Forest attraction for what a life-changing experience for them and their family. We hope the brothers felt inspired by their visit and continue to make magical memories with their family thanks to this amazing new technology.”