she doesn't have retinitis pigmentosa," until she was older. then they were actually able to see the spots in her retina when they examined her. well, like, i don't have very good balance, so riding a bike was hard, but actually, my dad helped me through it, and we ride bikes together on bike trails, and we do it a lot, and i am actually a very good bike rider, and i don't fall anymore. diana: i think it's important to actually discuss it because, like you said, there are different things that you can do in order to promote safety such as carrying a flashlight, just being more careful, or trying to keep in the back of your mind, you know, when dusk is going to happen and try to get to your destination before then. narrator: where does usher syndrome come from? usher syndrome is always genetic. ushers is an inherited condition, not from one parent, but both. kimberling: the reason why it's this way is because it takes two for usher syndrome to happen. it takes a gene, a specific gene, coming from mom and one coming from dad, and they have to com

. >> yes, i was born with retinitis pigmentosa. >> hinojosa: and what was that like? i've read that your parents didn't really want you talking about the fact that you were blind. >> yes. you know, i think they didn't quite know what to make of it, you know? and there certainly was this fear that in society they would somehow get pitied or labeled in some way. you know, remember, i said we went to gurdwara friday night, saturday night, and all day sunday. they didn't want people to be staring at them. so i did spend a good portion of my childhood trying to, you know, not let people know. so i almost had two lives, where in the gurdwara you were always trying to hide it, and in school you were, of course, labeled as the one that had the special nes. >> hinojosa: what was that like for you, to know that, you know, this is who you are, and yet you weren't really being allowed to kind of choose how you dealt with the fact that you were blind? >> well, it was certainly difficult to pretend. i mean, it was certainly, at times, stressful. >> hinojosa: i can't even imagine wh

he's one of thousands people with retinitis pigmentosa. the 15-00 pixel retinal chip sends electronic signals direct to the optic nerve and from there to the brain. this surgery is the culmination of years of research here and in germany where the implant is made. up to 12 british patients will have the chip fitted as part of a major trial of this truly innovative technology. >> i think this is an amazing development. here we're talking about a patient who is completely blind, able to see. we're talking about something that is here and now, not what might be achievable in five or ten years but what's happening now. >> a second patient, robin miller, showed me how the implant enables him to perceive light and there's been another unusual benefit. >> the biggest upside for me is that i am dreaming in color for the first time for 25 years. intense, bright color. which is an extraordinary thing. >> reporter: retinal implants have been compared to early grainy photography, but with the hope of restoring clear vision for future generations of pat