Colorblind man brought to tears after seeing color for the first time

Opie Hughes, a Pennsylvania man who has red and green colorblindness, saw the world and his kids in color for the first time thanks to a special pair of glasses.

And it brought tears to his eyes.

Hughes' family purchased a pair of EnChroma glasses, which enhance the perception of colors in those who suffer from color blindness, and recorded his first reactions, ABC News reports. Since then, news outlets and social media have shared a YouTube video of his experience that's reached more than 1.5 million views. 

With the help of an online fundraiser, his family raised enough money to buy the glasses, just in time for his birthday, Mashable says. EnChroma glasses are priced starting at about $350.

"We got them second-day aired and went over to his house for dinner," his sister Katherine Empey told ABC News.

Although it was winter and the trees and grass lacked rich color, Hughes' family still made the experience special.

In the YouTube video posted by his sister, Hughes' children wore colorful winter coats and his family arranged a makeshift flower garden in their front yard.

After ripping through what he and his children referred to as endless packaging, Hughes tried on the glasses and was immediately overwhelmed by his surroundings. Empey then told him to look over at his children's eyes.

"It was heartbreaking for me," his sister told ABC. "You would think it's a happy moment, I got sad... finally realizing that he has missed out on seeing his kids' eyes and seeing colors."

According to EnChroma.com, the glasses help "colorful objects, such as flowers, colorful paint and fabrics, food, and traffic signs suddenly 'pop' with a heightened purity and intensity."

"It's really weird," Hughes said in the video, shaking off his tears.