Woman Blinded in Accident 21 Years Ago Suddenly Regains Vision

A Florida woman who went blind more than two decades ago has suddenly regained her sight, a sudden development that she and her doctors are calling a miracle.

Mary Ann Franco lost her sight after a serious car crash 21 year ago.

She recently fell in her home, causing a neck injury that required spinal surgery, KGO-TV reported.

When Franco woke after surgery, she was surprised to be able to see, she told the television station.

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"To see the sun and the clouds and the birds and the squirrels running up the light poles. You know, and there was a big hawk out there the other day," Franco said.

Her family was stunned to learn the news.

"She called me and said, 'Mary can see!'" Franco's brother Rocky Powell told KGO-TV. "I said, 'No! After 21 years?' I said, 'Wow!'"

Franco’s neurosurgeon said the sudden development is truly a miracle.

Read: Watch 2-Year-Old Girl See and Hear Her Mom For First Time After Surgery

The woman’s car accident may have kinked an artery in her spine, restricting blood flow to the part of her brain that controls vision, he said.

When the surgeon operated on her spine, he may have unwittingly unkinked the artery, he added.