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Corneal Transplant Allows Truck Driver to Keep Driving

Corneal Transplant Allows Truck Driver to Keep Driving

Jan 31, 2017 | Recipient Stories

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.

Saving Sight Columbia Facility Update & Commitment

Saving Sight Columbia Facility Update & Commitment

Jan 4, 2017 | News

Over the past several months, Saving Sight’s board and leadership have explored ways to best use organizational assets to sustain the impact of our programs in an increasingly competitive non-profit environment. As a first step in this process, four acres of underutilized property at Saving Sight’s Columbia location were listed for sale. A portion of proceeds from the sale were to be earmarked for building improvements in the outdated Columbia facility necessary to continue operations in the building.

Once the land was listed for sale, the Saving Sight team worked with a local real estate developer to conduct a facility analysis of the Columbia office. The report identified the building’s HVAC system would need to be replaced, the elevator replaced or decommissioned, the parking lot resurfaced and exterior lighting addressed just to improve some of the basic building functions. Through the facility analysis, it became apparent that the investment required to bring the building’s systems up to date and change building layout to improve workflow for local operations would be greater than the value of the building at the conclusion of improvements. Seeing a clear need for a more modern and usable space for operations in Columbia, Saving Sight’s board of directors voted to list both the Columbia building and land it sits on for sale at their December meeting. The board action was explicit that while the current Columbia facility should be listed for sale, Saving Sight will continue all local operations, including the Lions Volunteer Center, in the Columbia area. Those functions and staff members will simply be relocated to a different and more updated facility in Columbia that better meets the organization’s needs upon the sale of the current building.

We look forward to keeping Lions volunteers and other key local supporters up-to-date on the progress of the building sale and future site of our local Columbia operations as new information is available.

Saving Sight and Local Legislators Host Care Fair

Nov 2, 2016 | News

Sonja Buckley, KidSight vision screening technician, screens children at the 2nd Annual 24th Senatorial District Care Fair on October 8.

On Saturday, October 8 Saving Sight teamed up KidSight, Senator Jill Schupp and local state representatives to host the 2nd Annual 24th Senatorial District Care Fair at the Overland Community Center. The Care Fair introduced underserved members of the community to local health and wellness resources and provided access to basic preventative health services to promote healthy communities in the surrounding area.

“People accessed all these services at no cost and we think it’s a great event to bring the community together around making sure that people are healthy and fit and know where to go when they need healthcare resources,” said Senator Schupp.

Nearly 250 community members came to take part in the Care Fair. This was a
huge increase in attendance from last year’s inaugural event. The increase in participants was attributed to improved event promotion and to an increase in
local health vendors offering health services at the Care Fair.

“This event today had over 30 different vendors, everything from vision screening and glaucoma screening, to flu shots, to blood pressure screenings, but also mental health services and services for kids,” said Senator Schupp.

In addition to health vendors offering hearing screenings, blood pressure checks, vaccinations, nutrition education, fitness instruction and other healthcare informational services, Saving Sight provided KidSight Vision Screenings for children and Healthy Vision Screenings for adults. In all, 26 children and 35 adults stopped by the Saving Sight booth for a screening. Sonja Buckley, KidSight vision screening technician, provided screenings for participants of all ages and was also able to provide attendees with reading glasses from Saving Sight’s Eyeglass Recycling Program. The readers were a huge hit, and those who received a pair were grateful to have the glasses to help them see to read in their daily life.

“I want to say thank you to Saving Sight who really encouraged me to put on this health fair a second and third year,” said Senator Schupp. “Saving Sight provides vision screenings for children ages 6 months to 6 years. What we know is that, when we catch it early, they can help prevent childhood vision loss and that is so important to ensuring that our children have a healthy future, do well in school and do well in life.”

Cornea Recipient Takes in the Sights During Retirement

Cornea Recipient Takes in the Sights During Retirement

Oct 7, 2016 | Recipient Stories

Hiking over rough terrain and in cold temperatures is worth it to see the beauty of a glacier. On a recent Alaskan cruise from Anchorage to Vancouver, British Columbia, Katie and her husband hiked at Davidson Glacier in Alaska. “We had to hike over rough terrain to get to the glacier. There was a time I was not able to see well enough to hike with confidence. Now that I can see clearly, I feel able to take it on,” said Katie. “Every day I am grateful for my eyesight and the things I can accomplish.”

Just 3 years ago, Katie’s eyesight had deteriorated due to the eye condition keratoconus, which causes the normally round cornea to bulge and become cone-shaped. The misshaped cornea causes nearsightedness and blurred vision. Katie knew someday she would have to have a corneal transplant due to the condition. The question wasn’t if, but rather when. An avid reader, she was no longer able to see the words on the pages of her favorite books and relied on audio books to enjoy her favorite titles. Katie and her husband enjoyed traveling, but unable to read signs in the airport and along roadways, Katie’s worsening vision limited their ability to travel to the places they wanted to go.

For as long as Katie could remember her husband and friends could see things she couldn’t. As she got older and her keratoconus worsened, she wore contacts in both eyes but still couldn’t see. Katie retired early from the state of Illinois where she had found ways to enlarge the print on her computer to see the text and numbers with accuracy in her accounting work.  Retirement provided her time to recuperate, making it the perfect opportunity for her to have her transplant. “One of the things that made me decide to go ahead and have this done is that we never know what the future holds and I would rather do it now and enjoy the benefits longer in my life,” said Katie. “Falling becomes a concern as you age and not being able to see increases that risk. You want to be able to see as well as possible for safety.”

In October 2013, Saving Sight coordinated donation from a generous donor to give Katie the gift of sight through a corneal transplant. With regained sight, Katie couldn’t be more appreciative to the donor and their family. “There is always that sorrow of losing a loved one and I thank them for making this decision,” said Katie. “Organ donation is essential to enhance peoples’ lives, not just corneas but everything – you can save a life or improve a life immensely.” Katie joined the organ donor registry years ago in the state of Illinois and carries the designation on her driver’s license.

Katie advises others who need a corneal transplant to go ahead with the transplant and enjoy the benefits of restored sight. “Be patient with the healing process, but it’s worth it,” she said. “I appreciate what Saving Sight does and being able to see better now.”

Join Katie 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.

Saving Sight Partners with Community to Increase Donor Designation

Saving Sight Partners with Community to Increase Donor Designation

Oct 6, 2016 | Community Partners, News

Saving Sight, Donate Life Team Illinois, Life Goes On and Mid-America Transplant at the Cardinals/Cubs baseball game on September 13.

Saving Sight, Donate Life Team Illinois, Life Goes On and Mid-America Transplant at the Cardinals/Cubs baseball game on September 13.

Saving Sight partners with local community events, health fairs and hospitals to increase donor designation through local donor designation drives. While 95 percent of Americans are in favor of being a donor, only 52 percent are registered. Donor designation drives help bridge the gap and allow Saving Sight to educate individuals about eye, organ and tissue donation and provide the community with resources to make the best decision for themselves and their family in regards to donation. In September, Saving Sight held several of these events throughout our service area. 

Saving Sight teamed up with the Kansas Lions Sight Foundation to have a booth at the Kansas State Fair September 9-18. Saving Sight’s Hutchinson, Kan. office staff Heather Britain, Amber Simmons and Samantha Christenson took turns during the 10 days of the fair, along with local Lions Club volunteers, to man the booth that was part of the Lions Mobile Screening Unit. “What we as staff enjoyed the most was getting to talk to recipients and their families, donor families and even a transplant surgeon about all the positive things about donation they have encountered,” said Heather Britain, partner relations coordinator. 

At the Washington County Memorial Hospital 22nd Annual Washington Health Fair on September 10 Richard Hamilton, partner relations coordinator for Saving Sight, raised awareness about Saving Sight and the community vision programs we offer and educated attendees on the importance of eye, organ and tissue donation. 

Amber Simmons of Saving Sight shares about donor designation at the Kansas State Fair.

Saving Sight also joined Donate Life Team Illinois, Mid-America Transplant and Life Goes On at a donor designation drive at the Cardinals and Cubs game on September 13 to educate and increase donor designation with baseball fans. In addition to the organizations being represented, a heart transplant recipient, a donor mother and a kidney recipient also volunteered to speak with those who approached the booth, sparking conversation and questions among attendees. 

Hosting donor designation drives at these different events helps educate those in different population groups throughout our service area and allows us to work with groups who have similar missions for promoting the positive impact of organ donation. 

Nationally, nearly 120,000 men, women and children are awaiting organ transplants and each organ donor has the potential to save up to 8 lives and enhance the lives of up to 50 people. You can join the millions of Americans who have registered to be donors by signing up at registerme.org. Visit donatelife.net for resources to help spread the Donate Life message or to learn how you can host an event to register donors in your community.