“The day after the surgery, when the nurse took the patch off my eye, I said, ‘I can see you!” The doctor was thrilled.”
Like many individuals suffering from Fuchs’ dystrophy, a degenerative disease of the cornea, Jackie of Raytown, MO. was able to adapt her life around her condition. But as the disease progressed and her ability to participate in her favorite activities began to suffer, Jackie knew a cornea transplant would be the only way to restore her lost vision.
Jackie first became aware of her Fuchs’ following a cataract surgery on her right eye in 2003. “When I returned to the doctor’s office the day after surgery to remove the patch, he asked me to read the chart on the wall, and I said, ‘What chart?’ That’s when they realized I had Fuchs’.”
It took Jackie a year to regain any vision in her right eye. She eventually underwent a successful cataract surgery on her left eye, but within a couple of years, her vision began deteriorating rapidly, which affected her quality of life.
Said Jackie, “I pretty much quit driving at night because the glare of the lights distracted me. I had problems with embroidery at times, especially cross stich, and I would notice after I finished something that I had jumped crosses.”
Upon her ophthalmologist’s suggestion, Jackie met with a cornea specialist who performed a transplant on her right eye. After a successful surgery, Jackie was amazed how quickly her vision began to return. “The day after the surgery, when the nurse took the patch off my eye, I said, ‘I can see you!” The doctor was thrilled.”
Today, Jackie can read without her glasses as well as embroider and quilt with no difficulties. She is also able to drive at night again, which allows her to attend her 17-year-old grandson’s basketball games and take her granddaughters to their gymnastics classes.
Because of her donor family’s generous decision to give the gift of sight, Jackie continues to pay it forward by encouraging others to pledge to become eye donors by joining their state’s donor registry at www.donatelifemissouri.com or www.donatelifekansas.com.
“Please, please register. It’s one transplant that is pretty successful, and there is nothing greater than the gift of sight. People don’t realize how terrifying it can be to think you might be going blind.”
“Chris was such a loving, kind person,” said Cheryl.
When Chris of Jefferson City signed the back of his driver’s license, pledging to be an organ donor, he wasn’t sure donation would be possible if something happened to him because he had diabetes. Yet, according to his sister, Cheryl, his compassion for others led him to make the pledge – just in case.
In July 2011, while recovering from a stroke he suffered months earlier, Chris passed away from a sudden hemorrhage. In the shock following his death, Cheryl was reminded about Chris’ license and asked if she would consent to donation. She didn’t have to think twice.
“Chris was such a loving, kind person,” said Cheryl. “He would have been thrilled and surprised to know he could have donated anything. He considered himself older, and because of his diabetes, he didn’t think he’d ever be a candidate. To be honest, I didn’t realize it either until we went through the donation process.He would have really been happy to make any kind of contribution.”
Dedicated to helping others
Throughout his life, Chris was known for giving back to his community. After serving in the Marines during the Vietnam War, Chris continued his service to others by working for the state of Missouri as a classification assistant for the Department of Corrections.
He was also a dedicated family man and doted on his two nieces and one nephew. According to Cheryl, her brother was a second father to them, helping with diaper changes and volunteering to babysit. As they entered their teen years, Chris, an avid reader, was their “go-to guy” for help with history and technology homework.
Almost as dear to Chris’ heart were his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. From the time he was young boy, he followed the team, and as he was recovering from his stroke, his family joined him to listen and watch the team’s roller coaster 2011 season. Their miraculous win in October was bittersweet, but says Cheryl, “I’m quite sure he was dancing in Heaven during the World Series this year.”
A life of service continues
Chris had no idea the impact he would make on families across the country when he signed his license. Through his pledge, Chris saved the lives of his lung and liver recipients, and enhanced the lives of many more through his gifts of corneas, bone and skin to Saving Sight and Midwest Transplant Network (MTN).
Just as important, he helped provide hope in the midst of his family’s grieving process. “Donation was a healing experience,” remarked Cheryl. “Since I didn’t get to talk to him right before he died, and there were no final words, this was the last thing I could do for him. It was really rewarding to feel like I could carry something out he would have wanted.”
Receiving general information from MTN and the Eye Bank in regards to Chris’ recipients has provided a sense of peace as well. “The letters we have received about the transplant recipients have greatly helped with the healing process of losing a loved one. It seems almost like a miracle. I cannot think of a single reason not to become a donor.”
For more information on registering as eye, organ and tissue donor in the state of Missouri, please visit www.donatelifemissouri.com.
After her vision returned following her cornea transplant, Mary was able to grab her camera to capture the images she had missed seeing for years.
At age 42, Mary of Emporia, KS was diagnosed with Fuchs’ dystrophy, a progressive disease in which one’s vision becomes blurred. Like many younger patients who face the disease, Mary wondered how she could juggle her family and busy career as her eyesight deteriorated.
Explained Mary, “It seemed to progress quickly, and I had stopped driving at night, which was so difficult having kids and activities. I no longer felt comfortable doing certain things at work, and I felt panicked (and a little pitiful) that was losing my vision. I even convinced my husband to move into town so that I wouldn’t have to drive home in the dark the 10 miles out that we lived.”
While Mary found ways to adapt her life and her work as a nurse around Fuchs’, a tragic turn of events made simply dealing with her vision loss no longer viable. A few years after her diagnosis, Mary put her own health concerns to the side to help her husband in his fight against cancer, which eventually took his life.
“A few months after he died, I realized my vision had gotten significantly worse, and as the sole parent, I had to be able to drive at night and had to be able to work. It was time to do something!”
In December 2010, Mary received a cornea transplant on her right eye with tissue provided by a donor family. Their gift was especially poignant after Mary’s own loss. “They are my miracle. I know the pain of their loss and am so appreciative that in the midst of their grief, they chose to make a gift that changed my life. It really hit me because my surgery was right before Christmas, and I know how hard the first Christmas is without your loved one, having just experienced that the previous year. I ached for them, and prayed that they might find peace.”
Mary’s transplant was a sight-saving success. Although her recovery required her to lie on her back for 72 hours and she endured some minor pain and irritation, her vision has improved considerably since her surgery – “It’s like having an HDTV in that eye! Everything is so clear and crisp, it’s absolutely amazing!”
Within two days, Mary was able to see the numbers on her alarm clock without glasses, and within two weeks, she no longer saw halos around streetlights as she drove in the dark. Her transplant has given her more confidence in her job and has allowed her to enjoy her favorite activities – reading, gardening, photography, and participating in church activities – in beautiful, brilliant clarity.
Today, Mary encourages her fellow Kansans to consider pledging to give the gift of sight by joining www.donatelifekansas.com.
“We don’t like to think that anything bad could happen to our loved ones or ourselves. The reality is that bad things, tragic things, can happen to good people all the time. Organ and tissue donation is a chance to transform that tragedy into a miracle. How beautiful to think that your last act on earth would be life-saving or changing for another – what a loving legacy!”
Since receiving her transplant, Diane has encouraged others to make the pledge to donate.
It was a routine eye exam that brought an incredible gift full circle for Diane, a cornea transplant recipient.
In August 2011, Diane of Independence, MO went to her eye doctor for a new pair of eyeglasses. During the exam, the optometrist noticed Diane showed signs of Fuchs’ dystrophy, a corneal disease that can lead to permanent blindness. Because Fuchs’ is usually a slowly progressing condition, Diane was surprised to learn the disease affected both of her eyes.
Diane immediately underwent a corneal transplant in one eye to save her sight. Although she faced some additional problems the weeks after surgery, today her vision has considerably improved. Diane no longer needs bifocals and can read her favorite books with no issues. In addition, her transplant has given her the vision she needs to teach painting classes, garden, and volunteer with her church’s thrift store – not to mention playing with her four grandchildren.
Diane’s transplant is just one chapter in her family’s story of donation. Several years ago, her husband, who had a brain tumor, died unexpectedly from an aneurysm. In order to prevent others from facing the same fate, the decision was made to donate his brain for research. Following his unexpected passing, Diane learned his corneas and skin were donated as well.
“When I received the letter from the recipient thanking me for the gift of sight, I was shocked at first. But I got to thinking about it – how wonderful it was that someone would be able to see and that skin grafts could help someone at a burn center. That changed everything for me. It made such a difference in how I looked at donation.”
Since then, Diane and her family have continued to pay it forward by spreading the word about donation and registering to become donors themselves – a pledge that grew even stronger after Diane’s own transplant.
“Because of our story, other people have decided to pledge to become donors as well. My best friend, other friends, people from church. Once you get such a special gift from someone, it touches the hearts of the many people who hear your story. And it certainly hits home when you realize you may be the one who needs another’s gift.”
Ramona’s paintings capture colors of the beautiful world that she can now see clearly.
Losing precious sight from corneal blindness can be an overwhelming and difficult experience for many. For Ramona, who experienced a decade of vision loss from posterior polymorphous corneal dystrophy (PPMD) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), it was devastating. As a watercolor art hobbyist, Ramona relies on her vision to paint scenes and portraits. However, as her vision diminished, painting the world around her became increasingly difficult. Ramona struggled with vision loss for years.
“I would get up in the morning and have blurred vision. No one knew what it was,” she commented. The vision in her left eye, in particular, was troublesome. After undergoing cataract surgeries on both eyes, Ramona was then diagnosed with AMD- a disease that gradually destroys sharp central vision. She began treatment for AMD, but then suffered a hemorrhage in the left eye. Together, the AMD and damage from the hemorrhage caused spots of permanent loss in her central vision. But the remainder of the vision in her left eye was still blurry.
After visiting a specialist, it was determined that Ramona’s left cornea had a very low cell count. Eventually, she was diagnosed with PPMD- a fairly uncommon disorder that causes lesions on innermost layer of cells in the cornea. In March of 2011, Ramona underwent a corneal transplant to restore the remaining sight in her left eye.
Today, Ramona’s vision has improved drastically thanks to a caring individual who made the decision to become an eye donor. Although she still has areas of permanent vision loss and is undergoing treatment of AMD in both eyes, a new clear cornea has allowed her to paint again. “Painting is one hobby that I do not want to give up,” remarked Ramona.
After experiencing so many problems with her vision over the years, Ramona is a strong advocate to her friends and family reminding them to make regular visits to their eye care specialist. Early detection and treatment of vision conditions like AMD play a key role in reducing the extent of vision lost to this disease.
