Advertisement Medical miracle: local woman regains sight after 21 years of blindness Mary Ann Franco can't wait to see what her future holds, literally Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Mary Ann Franco never needs to be reminded about the beauty of South Florida. She can’t wait to wake up every morning just to look out the window.“The sun is coming through the trees,” she said. “ "Oh God, it’s so wonderful to see.”For Franco, everything she sees is a gift.That’s because up until very recently, Franco couldn’t see anything at all.In 1995, Franco was in a horrible car accident and suffered multiple injuries, including to her spine.In the days following, her vision faded until all the light in the world went out.Download app: iOS | Android“It went blackish gray,” she said. “And I couldn’t see anything.”It stayed that way for more than two decades. Franco learned to live her life as a blind person.Now, her life has changed drastically.Recently, she fell in her Okeechobee home and hurt her neck. The injury required surgery to repair her spine and when Franco awoke in the hospital recovery room, she spoke to a nurse, indicating she could actually see.“I said, ‘Lady, you with all that purple on you, give me something for pain,’” Franco remembered.“And my niece says, ‘What did you say, Mary?’”And that’s when it hit her: for the first time in 21 years, Mary Ann’s world wasn’t dark.“Out the window, I could see the trees,” she said. “I could see the houses and stuff.”And she could see it all in color. Even before her accident, she was color blind. She isn’t anymore.Her niece couldn’t wait to tell the rest of the family.“And she called me and said, ‘Mary can see!’” said Franco's brother, Rocky Powell. “I said, ‘No! After 21 years?’ I said, ‘Wow!’”Franco now knows what her dog and cat look like. Her chores aren’t nearly as challenging as they used to be.Last week, Franco had her follow up appointment with her doctor, John Afshar. He’s the neurosurgeon who performed the operation and he has a hard time explaining how Franco regained her sight.“It really is truly a miracle,” Dr. Afshar said. “I’ve never seen it, never heard of it.”Dr. Afshar has a theory.He said he believes Franco's injury 21 years ago may have kinked the artery in her spine, restricting blood flow to the part of her brain that controls vision. When he fixed her spine, he may have unwittingly unkinked the artery.“And when we gave that extra amount of blood flow by unkinking the vessel, it could have re-established the blood flow,” Dr. Afshar said. “But this is all theoretical.”It’s a mystery to medicine but not to Franco. She said she is convinced this is an act of God.“I believe he just went ahead and give it to me, he give me back my sight,” said Franco. “I really believe this with all my heart.”Franco has a daughter, a son who recently passed away, seven grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. She’s held them and kissed them but she’s never seen them.We showed her photos and she marveled at how beautiful her family is.Then a few days ago, her daughter Michelle flew in from Michigan and surprised Mary Ann at her home.Franco couldn’t stop staring at her daughter and commenting on her hair, her face, and her eyes.She expects to see the rest of the family before the end of the summer.More than anything, she said she can’t wait to “see” what the rest of her life will bring.