Jan 15, 2010 | Recipient Stories
When you tell someone you work in a library, they automatically think you’re an avid reader. But for Denise from Hays, Kan., a part-time library employee, the opposite was true. Not because she didn’t love to read, but because a lifelong eye condition affected her vision so much she couldn’t. That is until a generous eye donor and a talented surgical team granted her the “gift of sight” through a cornea transplant.
For years, Denise had suffered from the effects of the ocular herpes virus – a communicable virus many are exposed to early in childhood. When breakouts occurred, Denise was often left with scars all over her cornea, eventually causing her to become legally blind in her right eye.
The condition caused limitations in Denise’s life. “I wrote really big so I could see better,” she said. “And whenever I was walking, I would have to look down the whole time to see if the surface was flat. If I came to steps, I would look for something to hold on to with my right hand or hang on to somebody.”
Finally, in 2004, Denise underwent a cornea transplant. According to Denise, the transplant experience went smoothly – she had no pain during the surgery or the recovery. In fact, she was awake and alert during the entire surgery, and her husband even got to watch the procedure.
Best of all, only 24 hours after surgery, vision in her right eye went from 20/200 to 20/70, and today, it’s 20/30. Said Denise, “It’s remarkable! I just wanted some vision back – I got a lot more than I expected!”
Today, Denise is back to reading again. She’s also taken up cross-stitching – a hobby she loved, but hadn’t been able to do in 20 years due to her limited vision. In addition, Denise is able to drive at night, something she couldn’t do prior to surgery, giving her more freedom and mobility in her day-to-day life.
Denise is a wonderful example of how a generous eye donor can change one’s life so dramatically. “I would certainly tell anyone – you are giving a gift through your donation. Becoming a donor is something you need to consider, and you should let your loved ones know what your thoughts are. It’s just the right thing to do.”
Jan 2, 2010 | Recipient Stories
Larry is forever grateful to the donors
who gave the gift of sight to help him
see.
For years, Larry lived with the pain and inconvenience of an eye disease called keratoconus. The condition caused his corneas in both eyes to become cone shaped, leaving him with poor vision, constant headaches, eye pain and frequent eye infections.
The condition began to interfere with his daily activities. Larry had to depend on his “better” eye while at work. After work was done, he had to take his contacts out immediately, leaving him with virtually no vision during his time outside of work.
Eventually, Larry underwent two corneal transplant surgeries- one for each eye. Today, his vision is excellent- his vision has increased to 20/40 without glasses in both eyes. Larry is now able to live his life with total independence and has been able to get back to participating in all of his favorite hobbies that he had abandoned due to his poor vision.
Larry is forever grateful to the eye donors who gave the gift of sight to help him see. His donors’ families are always in his thoughts and he is grateful to them in helping to facilitate donation.
Jan 2, 2010 | Recipient Stories
For many young cornea recipients, receiving the “gift of sight” through a cornea transplant can be an anxious and frightening time. Occasionally, the Heartland Lions Eye Banks receives stories about young children who have been very brave in coping with the loss of vision and then regaining it through transplantation. However, once in a while we find a child whose bravery and courage is truly exceptional.
In April of 2003, five-year-old Kevin Lance of Skidmore, Missouri was rushed to the ER after a friend threw a stick that accidentally hit him in the eye. Kevin was immediately sent to Children’s Mercy in Kansas City where he had surgery to repair the corneal laceration. Although the laceration was repaired, the injury left a scar on Kevin’s cornea that blocked his vision.
The year that followed his initial surgery was very difficult as the doctor recommended patching Kevin’s good eye in order to strengthen the vision in the injured eye. Unfortunately, Kevin’s vision continued to deteriorate and his doctor decided that a cornea transplant was needed in order to save his sight. In June of 2004, Kevin, then six, received a cornea transplant.
A few days after the transplant Kevin accidentally ran into his sister while playing, causing one of his sutures to come loose. Due to the accident, Kevin was taken back into surgery the following day to repair the suture. Only a few weeks later, Kevin suffered another setback when his older brother accidentally hit him in the eye with his elbow. This injury caused Kevin more eye problems by rupturing his healing eye. Once again, Kevin went back into surgery where the doctor had to remove the lens of his eye.
Since his last surgery, Kevin’s vision has improved tremendously and his brother and sisters are kept from “rough-housing” anywhere near him. As he continues to heal from the surgeries, his doctors and family anticipate that the next step in his recovery will be an intraocular lens implant as a result of the accidental incident with his brother.
“Kevin has been a very brave little boy through all of this,” said Kevin’s mother, Rebecca. “There were times when I didn’t think I was going to be able to handle everything but after what Kevin has been through and to see how he has dealt with the situation has inspired me.”
Dec 16, 2009 | Recipient Stories
Robert’s new vision has made the time he spends with his son even more
special.
The need for a corneal transplant can strike any one at any age – whether it’s due to an ocular disease, disorder or injury. For 38 year-old Robert, his problem began in his late teens.
For 20 years, Robert suffered from kerataconus, a disorder which causes the dome-shaped cornea to distort into a cone shape, significantly affecting one’s vision. As is the case for many keratoconus sufferers, the disorder hit early in Robert’s life and progressed as he grew older.
Robert wore contact lenses to correct the problem and faced no trouble handling his day-to-day activities. “The vision problems were slow and gradual,” he remarked. “I pretty much got used to them.” However, by the time Robert entered his late thirties, his eyesight deteriorated to the point his eye surgeon recommended a corneal transplant to correct vision in his most seriously affected eye. In November 2009, Robert underwent surgery to transplant eye tissue from a 40-year-old eye donor.
“I went to Dr. Timothy Cavanaugh at Cavanaugh Eye Center who is just amazing. The first day or two of recovery was uncomfortable, but since then, my eyesight has significantly improved. It’s not 20/20, but I can see a lot better. It makes a huge difference in my life.”
Now when Robert sees a blue car, he no longer sees just a “blue blob,” but can instead easily identify the make and model. He has no trouble reading labels and has noticed his peripheral vision is considerably better. Robert enjoys playing poker with his friends, and can’t wait for the spring to see how his new eyesight will improve his softball and golf games.
Most important, thanks to the generosity of his eye donor, Robert’s new vision has made the time he spends with his one-year-old son even more special. “Every day my vision is getting better. I’m looking forward to playing soccer with my son when he gets older. Because of my new cornea, I’ll be able to watch him and coach him. When that happens, I’ll continue to think of the person who was gracious enough to donate their eyes to me.”
Although Robert has long been a supporter of donation, his own experience has increased his drive in promoting eye, organ and tissue donation. “I would encourage everybody to register as tissue donors for sure. Being able to see has added so much to my life. It’s such an amazing gift. My eye transplant was one thing – it’s hard to even fathom the difference it would make for people waiting for organ transplants. What an impact donation has on their lives!”
Visit the Saving Sight website to learn more about eye donation and how to become an eye, organ and tissue donor.
