Mary Ann Franco lost her eyesight over two decades ago after she was involved in a violent car crash. She ended up suffering multiple injuries, but her doctors say it was the injury to her spine that caused her vision to fade before she eventually lost it completely. Since then, Franco has come to terms with the fact that she would never see again. Or so she thought.

Recently, Franco was involved in yet another serious accident, which helped her regain her vision. While doing some work around her house, the spritely Florida resident fell and injured her neck. She went to the hospital, where doctors decided that spinal surgery would repair the damage. So, she went in for the operation, and upon waking up in her hospital bed, she immediately noticed something was different: she could see.

Dr. John Afshar, the neurosurgeon who headed up the operation, said Franco’s car crash 21 years ago most likely kinked an artery in her spine, which restricted blood flow to the area of the brain that controls vision. During surgery, he believes he and his surgical team may have unknowingly unkinked that same artery. Certainly, Franco is not complaining.

“In the mornings I get up and look out here,” Franco told WFBF. “And the sun’s coming through the trees and the beams are coming down. It’s wonderful to see.”

Franco, who was colorblind even before her initial accident, is even able to see in color these days. And in spite of his reasoning, Afshar says this is nothing short of a miracle.