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By Rachael O'Connor
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A little boy confused and scared at getting his first pair of glasses quickly realized that his life had changed forever when he was able to see clearly for the first time.
Johanna Severin and her husband, Andreas, are proud parents to four-year-old Philippe, who is now a healthy and happy boy despite health issues for both mother and son when he was born.
"Philippe was born prematurely at 34 weeks. During my pregnancy, I was very ill with blood clots in my brain, and his early years have not been easy," Severin recalled to Newsweek.
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"He has had six double pneumonias and has undergone several medical investigations. If his health issues had continued, doctors would have needed to evaluate him for my illness—blood cancer. Thankfully, it never came to that."
For the past year, Philippe has been healthy, with no hospital stays, and the family breathed a sigh of relief—but, as Severin put it, "the worry lingered quietly in the background" when they noticed their son was squinting.
"We hoped it might be something he would grow out of," Severin said, but a follow-up doctor's appointment showed his vision had not improved, and they were referred to an ophthalmologist, where they learned Philippe had "moderate vision impairment."
"Suddenly, so many pieces fell into place. We could hardly wait for his glasses to be ready."
Now, the moment Philippe tried on his first-ever pair of glasses has gone viral, as his mother sharedit to her TikTok account @fruseverin—and to say Philippe went through a rollercoaster of emotions would be putting it mildly.
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As Severin described it: "At first, he was upset when he saw the glasses. He didn’t want to try them on. But when I gently placed them on his face, something changed. We saw it instantly.
"His expression shifted. His eyes widened. And then came the smile—that indescribable joy of truly being able to see clearly."
The video shows Philippe sitting on his dad's lap, sobbing and crying out as his parents gently place the glasses over his face. But the moment he opens his eyes, his shout dies down, and he takes in everything he can see with quiet wonder.
As he stares at the cartoon playing on TV, he realizes he can see more clearly than ever before, and his parents watch him make this realization with proud smiles on their faces. And, within seconds, Philippe is smiling too.
Severin wrote in the caption: "Philippe was't excited at first. We knew he might need glasses—we just didn't know how much they would change his world."
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The life-changing moment was hugely popular on TikTok, racking up close to half a million views since being posted on February 20, as one moved commenter pointed out how Philippe's "dad was so emotional."
"Must be so overwhelming and confusing bless him," another wrote, while one said: "Imagine how clear his world just became after getting the glasses."
And one parent shared their own story, writing: "As a mom to a now 27-year-old and a 21-year-old who has both worn glasses since the age of two I know how hard it is as a parent to get a child so young to understand the benefits of glasses, must be so hard for them when they can’t see clearly."
There has been an instant change in Philippe, his mother told Newsweek. Whereas before, he was always "cautious," not daring to "ride a bike, swing high, or fully throw himself into things the way other children do," his confidence has grown massively in just a few days.
"Every morning when he wakes up, he’s like a proud little gentleman, eager to put on his glasses right away. He happily shows them to new people and says, 'Hello! Look at my glasses!'" Severin said with pride.
"Our gratitude is beyond words. Now new adventures await: biking, skiing, and all the things he once hesitated to try," Severin said. "It's incredible what a single pair of glasses can do."
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