Christian Guardino: America's Got Talent’s blind miracle

CAIRO – 15 June 2017: Every season, America’s got talent gives people from all over the USA the chance to impress the judges with their talent. This season, there was a unique talent with a unique story.

Meet Christian Guardino, 16, from Long Island, New York. His father makes pizzas and his mother is a nurse. When he was young all he wanted is to sing and perform music. However, from the time he was born, his eyesight was poor. Experts told his mother that his eyesight will get worse through the years, Guardino was diagnosed with Leber congenital amaurosis.

Leber congenital amaurosis, is an eye disorder that primarily affects the retina, which is the specialized tissue at the back of the eye that detects light and color. People with this disorder typically have severe visual impairment beginning in infancy according to the National Institutes of Health in the U.S.

At the age of 12, an experimental gene therapy treatment gave Guardino his sight back. Four years later, he is following his dreams of becoming a superstar.

The 16-year-old boy went on stage admitting right away that he was nervous. However, Simon Cowell helped him calm down by saying that he has a good feeling about him. He started singing “Who's Lovin' You” by Jackson 5, and the excited audience rose to their feet.

Guardino, got the golden buzzer from Mendel, thanks to his impressive voice that captured the audience and the judges’ attention.

After his performance, Guardino was trending on twitter, and his YouTube video had garnered almost four million views.