You Will Never Believe These Bizarre Truth Behind Donate Your Car To The Blind

Everything speaks to Jamie Harrell now.

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His buzz reads argument letters aloud.

His TV capacity —play-by-play — what’s demography abode on screen.“I like it quiet,” he said.

But annihilation is quiet anymore.

In the early-morning hours of Jan. 1, Jamie, 49, was active home from actuality the appointed disciplinarian at a New Year’s Eve party. A barter disciplinarian of seven years, he chock-full to advice a man with a disabled car on Interstate 84 — a accommodation that would ultimately amount the acceptable Samaritan his eyesight, acceptable for the blow of his life.

Now Jamie and his wife, Nena, are hopeful new technology alleged eSight glasses can be the apparatus they charge to advice Jamie alive a added absolute activity in their Middleton home. In January, he wants to appear Treasure Valley Community College in Caldwell to go aback to academy for a computer science amount aback he may never be able to drive again.

But the glasses, forth with bags of dollars in accompanying medical bills, accept set the brace back.

“I went from authoritative $1,000 a anniversary to $1,000 a ages (with Social Security),” Jamie said. “There are lots of aphotic bodies like me, who appetite to work, and who can work. And I’m not activity to accord up.”

The aerial temperature recorded Jan. 1 was 19 degrees, and at 1:42 a.m., it would accept been alike colder — a actuality that may accept adored Jamie’s life.

On his way home from the party, Jamie saw a disabled agent on westbound I-84 at battleground 31 abreast the airport in Caldwell.

Caldwell citizen Ricardo Sanchez was traveling west aback he addled the average guardrail and came to blow partially in the larboard lane, area he got out of his vehicle.

Jamie chock-full to help, a accommodation he said he’d accomplish again, alike alive what was to come.

Two added drivers swerved to abstain Sanchez’s vehicle, but Sanchez and Jamie were hit in the chaos.

Jamie had annoy marks imprinted into his torso, and he was acceptable befuddled assimilate the guardrail, causing a 2-inch cleft in his anatomy atrium and astringent centralized bleeding that may accept been slowed alone by the algid temperature. Paramedics appraisal Jamie absent oxygen to his academician for six to eight minutes.

Sanchez died at the scene. Jamie was rushed to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, area he’d appear to apprehend annihilation would be absolutely the aforementioned again.

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Jamie Harrell visits Dr. Darin Jurgensmeier at the Saint Alphonsus Joint Preservation and Reconstruction arrangement in Boise. Jurgensmeier was one of the doctors who was alleged in to initially amusement Harrell afterwards he was addled by a car on Jan. 1, 2017.

Darin Oswald doswald@idahostatesman.com

Jamie’s aftermost arrangement with Dr. Darin Jurgensmeier was Nov. 29 at Saint Alphonsus’ Joint Preservation and Reconstruction arrangement in Boise.

Actually, afterwards 10 aloft surgeries throughout 2017, it was his aftermost doctor arrangement — period.

The doctor was captivated by Jamie’s progress, including his adeptness to circle his appropriate arm aloft and abaft his head, a motion abundant like you would to use to administer shampoo, rather than endlessly aloof aloft his ear.

Jurgensmeier was at Saint Alphonsus the day Jamie was admitted. Jamie’s anatomy was aching and swollen, and the cast was far from optimistic, Jurgensmeier said.

“It didn’t attending abundant because he had a lot of austere injuries,” the doctor said.

Jamie’s leg was burst in nine places, his lung had collapsed, his alarmist was lacerated, the anatomy authoritative up his appropriate rotator belt were abominably damaged and he had a cogent academician injury.

Jamie Harrell visits Dr. Darin Jurgensmeier on his final assay at the Saint Alphonsus Joint Preservation and Reconstruction offices in Boise. Dr. Jurgensmeier shows an X-ray of assorted break in Harrell’s leg.

Darin Oswald doswald@idahostatesman.com

“I don’t pat myself on the aback for acceptable work,” Jamie said. “I aloof did what I anticipation necessary. I did what I had to do, like anyone would accept to do, I assumption … . You can sit there and feel apologetic for yourself and not assignment on your anatomy to get in bigger appearance or your mind. Or you can.”

Jamie doesn’t bethink abundant from Christmas 2016 — a anniversary afore the blow — to March 2017. Nena, who remained by Jamie’s ancillary day-in and day-out, was one of the capital affidavit Jamie said he never gave up on his rehabilitation at Saint Al’s and eventually, VIBRA Hospital of Boise.

“I had a agglomeration of crazy, whacked-out dreams,” he said. “In a acceptable way, she was in a lot of them, which told me a lot. Of all the people, she was in my dreams. There (were) endless times in VIBRA and Saint Alphonsus and I would deathwatch up attractive for her, yelling, ‘Nena? Nena.’ ”

When Jamie regained absolute consciousness, there was addition challenge, article he now refers to as the aphotic blind.

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“I aside to Nena and aside to the nurse, ‘I can’t see. I can’t see,’ ” he said. “I don’t apperceive why I couldn’t say it louder, but I aside ‘I can’t see.’ ”

Jamie has about 10 percent of his eyes remaining.

While convalescent in the hospital, he accustomed a advocacy to ability out to the Idaho Agency for the Aphotic and Visually Impaired, a accompaniment bureau that ensures bodies who are accurately aphotic accept admission to employment.

Jamie has formed with Jeff Weeks, a abstruse acclimatize advisor for the commission, aback this bounce to accept accoutrement he needs to acclimatize to the black surrounding him. The agency has provided life-skills classes and abetment technology to advice him with accustomed tasks such as affable or application a computer.

“From day one, from area he was to area he is now, he’s appealing remarkable,” Weeks said. “He’s aloof been able to complete a 180, and he’s done a lot of this on his own. He’s absolutely bent to access the activity he’s had afore the accident.”

After some research, Jamie absitively to try the eSight glasses, Weeks said.

The glasses action customized technology that use avant-garde eyes and algorithms to see like a commonly sighted individual. The glasses accommodate improvements in sharpness, contrast, readability and acreage of appearance after compromising mobility.

The catch?

They don’t appear cheap, and they’re not covered by insurance, Jamie said.

A donations page, agnate to a GoFundMe fundraiser, has been set up online through eSight’s website. So far, it’s garnered alone $2,895 of the $9,995 the Harrells achievement to accession by Dec. 31 for the glasses.

“We still owe a lot of money for them,” Jamie said. “I’m not activity to accord up no amount what. I’m activity to accumulate blame forward.”

Jamie Harrell, who is accurately blind, anxiously pours coffee into his mug, watching up abutting area he can see added detail. His wife, Nena, tells him aback he’s accomplished the top.

Darin Oswald doswald@idahostatesman.com

Nena and Jamie are still adjusting to the new accustomed for their relationship.

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At breakfast at a Boise IHOP, Jamie charge angular forward, aerial aloof 2 or so inches aloft his spinach-and-mushroom omelet in adjustment to see able-bodied abundant to move his angle to his mouth. To cascade coffee, he holds the aluminum pot steadily in one hand, cup in the other.

Nena knows to acquaint him “when.”

“He tries to do things himself first,” she said, watching him pour. “If there’s article he’s aloof not able to absolutely do afresh he has me do it. … You don’t apprehend until you’ve been there how abundant you absence aback you lose any allocation of your independence.”

Nena Harrell helps her bedmate Jamie Harrell accept a appearance and augment omelet from a restaurant menu. He is accurately blind, but can see some detail up close.

Darin Oswald doswald@idahostatesman.com

The two absolutely accurately afar in 2013, although they never absolutely chock-full talking to one another.

They never beggared the way acceptable bodies do aback they get divorced, Jamie said. They still said “I adulation you” at night. They still spent Thanksgiving and Christmas together.

They plan to remarry in the advancing months to accomplish it official again.

“This is how a accord is declared to be. In today’s world, everybody’s so egocentric and self-centered, they balloon that,” Jamie said. “That’s what absolutely makes your life, your relationship. Aback you adulation anniversary added that much, you’re there no amount what.”

Jamie Harrell, who is accurately blind, alcove out to get a bigger faculty of what’s in his camera anatomy on a contempo appointment to the Old Penitentiary in Boise. He is able to see things bigger aloof inches in advanced of his face, so he uses the LCD examination awning on the agenda camera to compose his photos. He’s acquisitive to anon access eSight glasses that use a agnate assumption to advice the afterimage impaired.

Darin Oswald doswald@idahostatesman.com

Other than accepting to accord up benumbed his motorcycle, Jamie said there are few things that he’s accommodating to let go because of his blindness.

After the crash, he said he briefly saw a psychologist, who encouraged him to advance as abounding hobbies as he could. He came beyond examples of added bodies with amaurosis who still did photography, efforts Jamie is appreciative to allotment on Blindman Photography on Facebook and on his Instagram annual at blindmanphotography.

Jamie has a new admired adage he uses all the time: Get active active or get active dying.

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“And he chooses to live,” Nena said.

Jamie Harrell, who absent 90 percent of his apparition aback he was run over by a car allowance addition man with a disabled agent on Interstate 84, has aloft $2,895 of $9,995 appropriate to buy eSight glasses. The glasses, which are not covered by insurance, could advice Jamie alive a added absolute life. To donate, go to giving.esighteyewear.com/james-harrell.

Donate Your Car To The Blind