'Bionic eye' helps blind man see after 33 years

A North Carolina man who's been blind for 33 years recently got his sight back with the help of a groundbreaking "bionic eye."

Larry Hester lost the ability to see after being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa -- a disease that slowly wore down his retinas-- in his early 30s, according to the Duke University Eye Center.

There's no known cure, so the 66-year-old tire salesman has been in the dark for more than half of his life.

In September, an electronic stimulator was surgically implanted in Hester's left eye.

The result? Light. And lots of it.

"Yes. Oh my goodness. Yes!" Hester exclaims in a video after doctors ask if he can see anything. His ecstatic wife runs over and kisses him.

While Hester's vision will never fully return, he hopes it will improve enough that he can distinguish between doors and walls.

Watch the video below or by tapping here:

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'Bionic eye' helps blind man see after 33 years