Colorblind deputy has emotional reaction after seeing color for the first time

EUREKA, Calif. (FOX 13) - A California deputy spent his whole life colorblind, but a thoughtful gift changed his view of the world.

On November 14, Jeff Dishmon, a correctional deputy and SWAP farm manager with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office received a pair enchroma glasses. Correctional deputy Samantha Freese has worked with Dishmon for eight years at the correctional facility. Over the years, they have grown close enough to nickname each other “grandpa” and “granddaughter.” 

“Dishmon has been color blind his whole life,” the agency explained on its Facebook page, “which has sometimes been a source of frustration for him and others around him. Freese and other correctional deputies pitched in to purchase enchroma glasses for Dishmon.

The sheriff’s office shared emotional video of him receiving the glasses. When Dishmon placed them on, tears started flowing for between him and Freese. 

“What do you see?” Freese asked.

“A different world,” he responded.

Another deputy was seen holding a bouquet of colorful balloons for Dishmon. 

“Can you see the purple?” Freese asked, and instructed another deputy to point out each color. “That one is purple. You got green. Blue. The red, and then the yellow.”

“Oh my goodness,” Dishmon said with a shaky voice. He hugged Freese and thanked her and the entire department. He said his wife will want to watch the sunset with him.

In an open field, he called his wife, telling her he can see color for the first time in his life.

“You wouldn’t believe this place. This whole place just lit up,” he described as he looked around him. “I mean the whole world is lit up.”

Dishmon’s fellow deputies explained it will take a couple of weeks for his eyesight to adjust to the glasses. At the end of the social media video, he hugs Freese again as they look out into the grassy field.

“It’s a different world,” he says. “It is a different world.”