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.
For a busy mom with three boys ages eight through 12, clear vision is critical to running her kids to their favorite sports and watching them from the bleachers.
In 2000, Tammy of Sparta, Mo. was diagnosed with keratoconus, a disorder in which the cornea thins and becomes cone-shaped. Within 10 years, the condition completely altered Tammy’s life as she could no longer see details in anything she viewed. Tammy had to cut down on her hours at work and could only drive during the day if weather conditions were absolutely perfect. In addition, her contact lenses for the condition were no longer helping with vision, but in fact, just irritating her eyes. Worst of all, although she was able to cheer on her sons at their ball games, she could no longer see them out on the field.
In 2011, Tammy had two surgeries to help restore her vision. On her right eye, she underwent an Intacs procedure in which plastic inserts are implanted into the eye to revert the damaged cornea back into a dome shape. On her left, thanks to a generous donor family, Tammy receive a cornea transplant to save her sight.
The date of her transplant was incredibly relevant – she received her gift on Valentine’s Day. “I’m not going to forget the day, that’s for sure,” remarked Tammy. “It’s the best gift I could have received. I know what it’s going to do for me in the long run. When you lose sight, you lose a lot of your world.”
Although Tammy’s vision has not yet completely returned, her eyesight is better than it was. By following her doctor’s instructions, there is an excellent chance she will regain the majority of her vision within the next year.
“With this gift of sight I will be able to watch my three sons grown up and make a difference in our world. I will be able to see them score the winning goal in soccer, shoot that three pointer in basketball, perform in their school productions, and walk across the stage to accept their diploma. These are just a few of the things that I will now get to enjoy and see!”
For Tammy, her donor family has changed her life and the lives of the three boys who depend on her. “I don’t know them, but I feel like they’re part of my family. They did something so generous for someone they didn’t even know. It means the world to me – I can’t thank them enough.”
To learn how you can join Missouri’s eye, organ and tissue donor registry, please visit www.donatelifemissouri.com.
Connie was one of four members who suffered from Fuch’s dystrophy. A cornea transplant saved her sight.
Fuchs’ dystrophy, a disease that causes the cornea to deteriorate, is one of the main reasons why someone requires a cornea transplant. It’s also hereditary, often touching multiple family members.
Connie of Bentley, Kan., for instance, was the fourth person in her immediate family to be diagnosed with Fuchs’. Suffering from the same disease that affected her father, brother and twin sister, Connie knew a corneal transplant was her only option for better vision.
For years, Connie’s vision had been slowly deteriorating and soon affected her ability to drive at night or work on the computer – critical skills she needed to perform her jobs in human relations and as a Christian counselor. “I had to wear sunglasses all the time because there was too much sunlight coming in,” she remarked. “I also completely lost my night vision. I couldn’t drive anywhere; my poor vision took my freedom away.” In addition, Connie could no longer read in the morning – a hobby she always loved – since her eyesight would be foggy until late morning.
Finally, Connie underwent a cornea transplant on her left eye with tissue provided by a caring donor and their family. Within weeks, her vision slowly started returning, giving her the ability to enjoy her favorite activities and see her children and grandchildren. In fact, the eyesight in her left eye is now so strong, her doctor decided he could wait a few more years before performing a transplant on her right eye.
As someone who has received the gift of sight and understands the amazing generosity of donor families, Connie encourages her fellow Kansans to join the state’s new first-person consent donor registry. By signing up at www.donatelifekansas.com, you, not your family members, have the final say over your donation wishes.
“It’s so important to sign up,” said Connie. “You’re giving someone a second chance with your donation. You never know who that person’s going to be or what their situation is, but providing such a vital gift to them is tremendous.”
After receiving cornea transplants in both eyes, Jerry now has the eyesight he needs to watch a St. Louis Cardinals game.
For years, Jerry of Shell Knob, Mo. had adapted to his lifelong nearsightedness, but by 1996, his vision had grown considerably worse.
During a routine eye exam, his ophthalmologist made an unexpected discovery – Jerry was afflicted with Fuchs’ dystrophy, a disease that threatens both the corneas and a person’s entire vision. Jerry was told that by age 70, he would have to have corneal transplants on both eyes.
The condition did not limit Jerry’s duties in human resources and government training, but by the time he retired, the disease affected his ability to drive at night and to experience many of his favorite activities, including watching sports.
“I love sports, baseball in particular, but in the last several years, I didn’t enjoy going to a ballgame,” remarked Jerry. “I couldn’t follow the ball at night especially. I was becoming blind, so I just quit going.”
By 2009, Jerry knew he wouldn’t be able to see well enough to pass a driver’s test and decided to proceed with a corneal transplant on his right eye under the care of Dr. John Cowden of the Mason Eye Institute in Columbia. In February 2010, Dr. Cowden performed Jerry’s surgery on his left eye as well.
Today, thanks to the generosity of his eye donors’ families, Jerry has 20/25 vision in his right eye and 20/40 in his left – even without glasses. He can now see the faces of his nine grandchildren, enjoy the freedom of driving on his own, watch a play or performance, and yes, catch all the excitement of his favorite game.
Said Jerry, “My eyesight was progressing to the point where everything would be a blur, so I am so thankful for the Eye Bank program and the people selfless in thinking ahead and donating the tissue for use. My wife and I will both be donors when we pass away. I had always thought about it before, but it really comes home when it benefits someone as much as it has benefited me.”
To learn more about becoming an eye donor in the state of Missouri, please visit www.donatelifemissouri.com.
After many years of vision loss Kathy received hope for new sight from her donors.
In 2002 Kathy’s life was forever changed when she was broadsided by a driver who ran a red light while on his cell phone. Car battery acid hit both of Kathy’s eyes, causing grade 4 chemical burns. The chemical burns on her eyes caused complete limbal stem cell failure. Without limbal stem cells, Kathy’s corneas were not able to heal and her eyes became vascularized. She was told that she would have to prepare to go blind.
“Every day I’d wake up and wonder ‘How much sight am I going to lose today?’” Kathy recalled.
Kathy tried to prepare for the eventual vision loss. She learned tricks such as using color-coded keys and replacing items in cabinets in the same place each time to memorize their location. Kathy’s husband was instrumental in helping to set up the house to prepare for her vision loss- truly a team effort. However, she found that the hardest changes were her inability to work outside the home or drive a car. The loss of independence was difficult when within four months Kathy lost vision in both eyes.
She was told that regaining sight in her left eye would be hopeless, and the best they could hope for was to regain some sight in her right eye. Kathy received a limbal stem cell transplant with tissue from both a deceased donor and her daughter as a living donor. After about seven months the limbal stem cell transplant failed and Kathy remained legally blind in her right eye and completely blind in her left eye.
In 2005, Kathy’s doctor tried again to restore vision with a less common type of transplant known as a Boston Keratoprosthesis, or Boston KPro, in her left eye. In a Boston KPro transplant, the surgeon uses an artificial plastic cornea along with donor tissue to hold the artificial cornea in place. Just days after the transplant, Kathy was able to read the big E on the eye chart.
Two years later her doctor performed another KPro transplant on her right eye in an effort to restore some vision. This time, the donor tissue to help hold the artificial cornea in place was provided by a generous donor and their family from Heartland Lions Eye Banks. The transplant was also successful in restoring some lost vision.
Today, Kathy’s vision is not perfect but it is much improved from the complete blindness that she suffered from immediately after her accident.
“To those facing cornea transplants, remember that there is always hope as long as you are willing to try,” said Kathy. “You have to take that step to have hopethere is no hope if you don’t!”
As a recipient of multiple tissue transplants, Kathy feels committed to educating others about the importance of both organ and tissue donation and sight preservation. Shortly after receiving her second transplant from Heartland, Kathy was inspired to join her local Lions club. Today, she is incoming president of the Palmdale Lions club and volunteers with the club’s eye care assistance program.
Above all, Kathy is thankful for the gifts of sight that her donors were able to provide. Throughout the past nine years she had 13 ocular surgeries and benefited from the tissue donations of nine different individuals.
“I have a lot of people to thank when I get to heaven,” remarked Kathy.
