A British man now “sees things in cartoon vision” after suffering from multiple strokes.
Graham Varley, from Leeds, had multiple strokes in 2017 that severely affected his sight, and caused a rare condition called Charles Bonnet Syndrome.
This means the 56-year-old will see things that aren’t there, as well as often not being able to recognise other people’s faces, LeedsLive reports.
Graham said: "What happened to me is so rare, and so strange and it really has been horrible to deal with. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. But four years on – I feel like I’ve started to live again."
He was a bakery manager at the time, and thought he was just having a normal headache in 2017 as he worked.
But he collapsed and was rushed to hospital where it had been revealed that the blood had been cut off from the main artery to his brain.
This left him with right-sided hemianopia, the loss of half your visual field.
Graham said: “After my strokes I not only had to learn to do everything again like read and write, and even learn how to get dressed, but I also lost the majority of my vision – and on Christmas Day of all days.
"The only sight I have left is a bit in the top right of my eyes – I cannot focus and have no perception of 3D, so everything I can see looks like a cartoon.
“One of the most disturbing things caused by my sight loss, is Charles Bonnet Syndrome, which causes me to see things that aren’t there.
"Sometimes it can be things looking a different colour than they are, such as grass being pink or a tree being purple, but other times it can cause me to have hallucinations that can be quite frightening – such as a car coming towards me, or quite often, huge spiderwebs.”
He also suffers from something called prosopagnosia, which is when he cannot recognise people’s faces.
Because of this he still does not know what his two-year-old granddaughter looks like as his condition means she looks different to him each time.
He added: “My doctor tells me I still have two blood clots on the brain that are dormant but they can move about and that causes my sight to change all the time, because signals aren’t going to the correct place.
“So some days I look at Griffin, my guide dog, and with the partial vision I have, he looks like a cartoon dog.”
After leaving hospital, Graham went a year waiting for support, relying on friends and carers.
He was assigned to several specialists and in November last year partnered with a guide dog Griffin.
"Funnily enough I wasn’t keen on a black Labrador, but then when Griffin came on to the scene, within 24 hours I was smitten!" Graham said.
“I have had dogs all my life, but I’ve never put my trust in one as I do now. We go out every day together – he’s opened up my life so much. The furthest I used to go was to the end of my driveway and back, but now we walk three or four miles a day.
“With my Charles Bonnet Syndrome, Griffin helps me know what is real and what isn’t. If I see something ahead of me but Griffin keeps on walking, I know that it’s a hallucination.
“Yesterday, with Griffin by my side, was the first time I’ve been in the supermarket by myself in four years. A few weeks ago, it was the first time since my stroke that I’ve been to the barbers. I feel like I’ve got my confidence back – I didn’t do any of the things that I do now, without Griffin.
“I’ve even taken him to the pub and everyone’s got to know him - he goes to say hello to everyone and now he’s a local celebrity!
"I’ve never trusted anyone like I do Griffin - he is truly amazing and I’m so grateful to Guide Dogs and the team for their support.”
Graham lives with wife Mandy, and is also supported by a carer.
He has four children and five grandchildren - he is teaching his 12-year-old granddaughter how to bake to follow in his footsteps.
