Corneal Transplant Allows Truck Driver to Keep Driving

Thanks to the generosity of a donor and their family, Larry received the gift of sight through a corneal transplant in October 2015 to correct his vision and allow him to continue his occupation as a truck driver.

Imagine the murkiness and cloudiness of a pool that doesn’t have a filter. Try as you might, you can’t get a crisp glimpse of what’s underneath the surface. For Larry, the cloudiness in his eye was like that. Everything was getting cloudy and blurry, making it difficult to see. And, as a career truck driver, clear vision and a good bill of health are critical to the livelihood of Larry’s family.

Thanks to the generosity of a donor and their family, Larry received the gift of sight through a corneal transplant in October 2015 to correct his vision and allow him to continue his occupation as a truck driver. “I’m thankful their loved one chose to donate,” said Larry. “My doctor said it would get to where I lost my eyesight completely if I didn’t have the transplant.”

The tissue for Larry’s transplant was provided by Saving Sight and was successful in correcting Larry’s post-cataract surgery edema. Thirty-two years ago Larry had surgery to correct cataracts in both eyes. Recently he began having issues with the old implants and they were taken out and replaced. As is sometimes the case, one of the new cataract implants caused him to develop corneal edema. The cataract surgery caused abnormalities in the innermost layer of the cornea, causing fluid to stay on the cornea. This was causing the blurriness and cloudiness in his vision, which led to Larry needing a corneal transplant.

Prior to Larry’s transplant, he didn’t have a connection to donation and transplantation or know very much about the process. “I never knew that people donated things like that,” said Larry. “I registered as an organ donor after my cornea transplant.” He added that his successful transplant and the impact transplants can have in the lives of others is what motivated him to join the eye, organ and tissue registry. He also chose to support Saving Sight through a financial donation that will help others in receiving the gift of sight.

Larry has a few months of healing left before his doctor will determine his final corrective lens prescription, but his experience has been positive in improving his vision. “The experience is a process but I appreciate the cornea and being able to see. This helped fix my vision to keep driving,” said Larry.

Join Larry and countless others by registering your decision to an eye, organ and tissue donor at registerme.org and share your decision with your loved ones.