For Jamie from Branson, Missouri, cornea transplantation has been a truly life-enhancing experience. Jamie works for Tantone Industries, a nonprofit sheltered workshop that provides meaningful work opportunities to people like Jamie who have developmental disabilities. Additionally, as a resident of Branson, he loves to watch the country and gospel music shows for which the city is so famous. Jamie suffers from keratoconus, though, which could have caused him to go blind in both eyes, losing his ability to work and enjoy the music shows. But thanks to cornea transplantation, he has regained his sight.
“He’s never been able to see very well,” said Dorothy, Jamie’s grandmother, with whom he’s lived for the past 10 years. “About six to seven years ago, Jamie started complaining about his eyesight.” Keratoconus significantly impairs vision for about 1 in 2,000 people, but its cause remains unknown. According to the National Keratoconus Foundation, the disease “is a non-inflammatory eye condition in which the normally round dome-shaped cornea progressively thins, causing a cone-like bulge to develop.” As his eye lost its round shape, Jamie couldn’t get a pair of contacts to fit well on his eye. “Jamie’s mother is a dispensing optician,” said Dorothy. “She tried several different lenses, but he was really not able to use any of them very long.” Eventually, Dorothy took Jamie to an ophthalmologist who recommended a specialty pair, but they were difficult to put in place as well as rather expensive. “It got to the point where he’d only put them in when we went to a show or somewhere he needed to see better,” said Dorothy.
Ultimately, Jamie was referred to Dr. Tauber in Springfield, who suggested cornea transplant surgery. The first surgery took place in May 2013 and went very well. Transplant surgery for keratoconus takes longer to heal than some other cornea surgeries, so the second transplant took place 18 months later after the first was healed. But this too was a success. “Dr. Tauber said Jamie was one of his best patients,” reported Dorothy. “He was really proud of the way Jamie took care of his eyes.”
Jamie’s second transplant is still in the healing process, but his vision is already greatly improved. “I can see everything clearer,” said Jamie. “Dr. Tauber is a really good doctor. I’m happy with the transplants. I’m happy I have good eyes to see. It’s really good not wearing the contacts.” This improvement has been most noticeable at one of Jamie’s favorite pastimes: the Branson music shows. “When we go to the shows, the people know him and speak to him,” said Dorothy. “Normally we ask for a seat in the third or fourth row, but after the first surgery, we sat in the twenty-third row and he could see.”
Once his eyes heal, Jamie hopes to return to work at Tantone Industries. Tantone offers a variety of employment options to more than 40 disabled adults, and Jamie’s favorite occupation is the laundry department. “They have a commercial laundry with two huge washers and two huge dryers,” said Dorothy. “In summertime he’s especially busy because he does laundry for a youth camp, some of the motels, the police department, one of the funeral homes, table cloths for a convention center—he does it all!”
Before he returns to work, Jamie and Dorothy want to thank the families of the heroic people who donated corneas so he could see again. “Jamie is very grateful to his donors,” said Dorothy. “He grasps pretty well where his ‘new eyes’ came from.” The transplant experience has been such a success for Jamie that he and Dorothy also have become big supporters of donation. “It hurts to think about, but if donation can help someone else like Jamie or a child or whoever, it’s a wonderful thing,” said Dorothy. Jamie and Dorothy intend to participate in Saving Sight’s correspondence program so they can write to the donors’ families. “We just appreciate so much that he had these donors, and Jamie would like to express his appreciation to their families,” said Dorothy. “He wouldn’t have his eyesight back if it weren’t for the donors.”
Join Jamie, Dorothy, and the millions of Americans who support eye, organ, and tissue donation by signing up for the donor registry at the Donate Life America website or at your local motor vehicles office.
With her vision restored by cornea transplantation, Dorothy is able to continue volunteering for her local hospital.
Dorothy was born and raised in Washington, Missouri. Not only has she lived her entire life in Washington, but she spent a considerable portion of her time working in the town’s hospital, what is today known as Mercy Hospital Washington. Dorothy first worked as a nurse’s aide during World War II and later went on to become the hospital’s executive housekeeper for 28 years. In fact, she even met her husband of 68 years through the hospital.
“I met [my husband’s] mother at the hospital, and he was in the service,” Dorothy said. “She asked me to start writing to him, so I did and now we’re still married.”
It comes as no surprise then that, after her retirement, Dorothy has stayed involved with the hospital as part of the auxiliary club. But what did come as a surprise was her rapidly failing eyesight a few years ago. “I had to use magnifying glasses just to read, which was strange because I hadn’t had a problem before,” said Dorothy. “It kept getting worse and worse, so I got stronger magnifying glasses.” When she could no longer find a magnifying glass strong enough to help her read, she visited a doctor. “He said my eyesight was really bad and asked if I wanted to keep seeing my grandchildren,” she said. Dorothy was diagnosed with Fuchs’ dystrophy, a disease that causes an inner part of the cornea to blister and cloud. “The doctor said I needed corneal transplants,” she said. “I wasn’t ready for that, but if I waited any longer, I’d be blind.”
Dorothy visited Dr. Fedyk, an ophthalmologist in St. Louis, who performed a few laser surgeries first to try to fix her vision without transplantation. But eventually it became clear that Dorothy would have to undergo corneal transplant surgery. “I was upset about it, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to see otherwise,” said Dorothy. “Dr. Fedyk scheduled the appointments, and I just did exactly what he said to a T and it was really good. You have to have patience and do what you’re told. The hospital was great, everything was so perfect for me.”
The corneal transplant surgeries were successful. “After I could see, it was amazing,” said Dorothy. “It was like a gift—well, it was a gift from the people who donated the corneas.” Because of her many years of experience in a hospital, Dorothy understood that her transplant tissues were donated by other people who chose to be donors when they passed away. “After my transplant experience and knowing other people’s experiences, I just think it’s a blessing that people will donate organs and tissues,” she said. “At first I couldn’t understand it, but then I saw how donation helps people so I think it’s wonderful. I can’t believe how it’s helped me. I want to encourage more people to donate.”
Dorothy has reported having terrific vision and can even read without glasses. “Before, there was a film over everything,” Dorothy remembered. “It was like walking in a fog–everything was blurred. I used to love to read and got upset when I couldn’t.” Thanks to two heroic cornea donors, Dorothy can see well again and read comfortably. “I can’t believe how much I was missing,” she said. “The colors are just beautiful, it gives you a beautiful outlook on life. I enjoy seeing people clearly again.” These days, Dorothy puts her renewed vision to good use by volunteering her time for the hospital. In fact, her sight is so good that she sews pillows for the maternity ward at Mercy Hospital Washington and makes tote bags for people who use a wheelchair or walker. “Life is busy, but I love it,” she said. “Everything is so beautiful and bright now.”
Join the millions of Americans who have said “yes” to helping people like Dorothy get sight-saving transplants. Sign up for the donor registry online at DonateLifeAmerica or at your local Department of Motor Vehicles office. And be sure to share your decision with your family.
As a teacher and artist, Anne was diagnosed with Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy, which, if left untreated, would have blinded her in the left eye. Her vision deteriorated to the extent that she required the transplantation of corneal tissue from a generous eye donor. Today, Anne’s vision is so significantly improved that she can enjoy creating artwork for her friends and acquaintances and remain active in her community as the planning commissioner. Watch the video below to hear her tell her story.
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An Artist’s Vision
Thanks to Saving Sight, I am able to see out of my left eye.
Want to give a gift that changes lives by saving sight? You can help people like Anne regain their sight and lead joyful, independent lives by making a donation at the Giving page.
Thanks to a cornea transplant, Anne is able to keep working at her home art studio.
Anne is an artist who resides in Gladstone, Missouri, a municipality in the Kansas City area. Now retired, she focuses on creating artwork for her friends and acquaintances, and she is active in her community as the planning commissioner. In 1980, however, Anne was diagnosed with a hereditary eye disease that causes vision to get worse as an inner layer of the cornea deteriorates. “I went to see my doctor for my yearly exam,” Anne said, “and I was diagnosed with Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy, which, if left untreated, would have blinded me in the left eye.”
For some time, Anne was able to continue her work, both as a teacher and an artist, by keeping routine appointments with her doctor. Together, they could retain her vision by regularly updating the prescription of her glasses. By 2007, however, her doctor finally recommended her to a corneal transplant specialist to fix her vision once and for all. Dr. Tim Cavanaugh of the Cavanaugh Eye Center conducted the operation, replacing the diseased portion of her cornea with corneal tissue donated by a generous donor and their family.
The transplant was a success. “I had to stay still for a day or two after surgery, but my vision in the left eye was 20/30 afterward,” Anne said. “It was a very easy procedure to go through.” Furthermore, the benefits of the surgery have continued for Anne. “I ordered new glasses after the surgery, and I am still wearing those glasses,” she said. “My sight has changed so little in seven years that new lenses are not necessary.”
Today, Anne continues to make art, including creating the cover art for Saving Sight’s 2014 holiday card. She is very thankful for the opportunity the transplant has afforded her, both personally and professionally. “I owe so much to the donor, my doctors, and Saving Sight,” she said. “Thanks to the cornea transplant, I can not only see but also continue as an artist.”
To join the millions of Americans who have signed up for the donor registry, register onlineat DonateLifeAmerica or at your local Department of Motor Vehicles office. And be sure to share your decision with your family and friends.
Susan, from Grandview, MO, is back to quilting and her other favorite hobbies thanks to her cornea donors, her surgeon, and Saving Sight.
“Five or six years ago, when I renewed my driver’s license, I almost failed the vision test. They told me I wouldn’t pass the next time,” said Sue of Grandview, Missouri. “So I decided to see an ophthalmologist for an eye exam before my next driver’s test.” However, Sue’s vision problems persisted. “Then one summer, three years ago, I went outside on a very bright day,” she said. “I saw little shards of sparkles in the air. I couldn’t figure out what it was—it was annoying and only happened in the sunlight.” At her doctor’s recommendation, Sue visited Sabates Eye Center in Leawood where she was diagnosed with Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy,a disease that causes the corneas to deteriorate. “The doctors said I was going blind,” Sue remembered. “That’s scary to hear, but they told me it’s a curable disease.” Approximately a year later in August 2013, with the diagnosis of Fuchs’ dystrophy confirmed, Sue received her first corneal transplant, which replaced the diseased part of her cornea.
Sue has experienced vision problems her whole life. As a child, she suffered from amblyopia (“lazy eye”) and had almost no sight in her left eye. She wore a patch over the stronger eye to help strengthen the weak eye, a common treatment for amblyopia. “I started wearing glasses at six years old, and that’s the first time I saw that things have hard lines,” she said.
After her first transplant surgery, Sue admits to feeling impatient and disappointed with the results. “I didn’t know that it takes time for the cells to grow, plus I didn’t get new glasses until after the second transplant in December,” she said. By February or March, after the second surgery, her sight was improving. “At each checkup my sight was a little better,” she said. “I was able to read small font and see better at a distance. I am seeing things I haven’t seen in years.”
Sue’s vision continued to improve. “I learned I had to be patient and trust my doctor,” she said. “Stay in good communication and develop a good relationship with the doctor. Mine is very good. I trust her skill and knowledge.” But the moment of realization for Sue, when she knew how far her vision had improved, was when she was quilting, one of her favorite pastimes. “I started a landscape quilt for my husband while recovering from the first surgery,” she said. “After the second surgery, I took it up again to work on. I sat down at the sewing machine to change the thread. Just a month before, I had to ask other people to thread the needle for me. Without thinking about what I was doing, I started to thread the needle, and I did it. It took me a moment to realize what I had just done. I was so excited!”
Another of Sue’s hobbies is oil painting. Before the transplant surgeries, everything was dark and slightly fuzzy for her. “My teacher asked me why I paint everything so dark,” Sue said. “I told her, ‘I don’t, that’s the way I see it.’ Now, the colors I see are so brilliant. I realized that not a lot of light was getting into my eyes, so I couldn’t see true colors. In the distance, I could not see tree leaves or birds in the sky. The loss was so gradual I didn’t realize for a long time just how bad my sight had gotten.”
Two miniature quilts Sue gave to Saving Sight as part of her “The Grateful Series.”
With her sight restored, Sue is back to work as a guest service representative at Target and returned to her favorite hobbies: quilting, painting,
reading, gardening, and baking. In fact, she’s currently at work on creating a series of miniature quilts: one for each of her cornea donors’ families, two for Saving Sight, one for her surgeon, Dr. Macaluso, and one for herself. “People have helped me and I wanted to show how grateful I am for their gifts. Now I can continue to enjoy my passion for color through painting and quilting.”
To join the millions of Americans like Suewho signed up for the donor registry, register onlineat DonateLifeAmerica or at your local Department of Motor Vehicles office. And be sure to share your decision with your family and friends.
Bill, a retired RN and veteran from Topeka, Kansas, is back to enjoying retirement and his motorcycle after two corneal transplant surgeries.
Bill, a retired operating room RN from Topeka, Kansas, knew he was at-risk to develop Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy. Causing an inner layer of the cornea to blister and cloud, Fuchs’ dystrophy is a hereditary disease, and it ran in his family. Bill’s mother and grandmother had both lost vision to it, but Bill was a full decade younger than they were when he was diagnosed with Fuchs’ dystrophy as well as cataracts. “My vision was cloudy, like looking through lacy curtains or a foggy windshield,” Bill said. Eventually, his sight worsened to 20/600 in both eyes, uncorrected, which left him unable to enjoy one of his favorite hobbies: riding his motorcycle. “I had to curtail that because my vision wasn’t good enough,” he said. “I didn’t feel confident. You have to really pay attention to watch for potential hazards.”
Bill became a nurse after serving in the U.S. Army. Originally in the Kansas Army National Guard, he was activated in May of 1968 and sent to Fort Carson. Later he was sent to Vietnam as a medical corpsman, where he worked in a surgical hospital for six months in the spring and summer of 1969. When offered higher education through the GI Bill, he left Vietnam inspired to enroll in nursing school. “In Vietnam, they had some excellent nurses,” he remembered. “I worked in intensive care there for most of my tour. I always liked being a medical corpsman, helping folks out. I also liked the idea of going to nursing school and being prepared for a specific type of job.”
As it turns out, Bill’s 34 years as a nurse prepared him for his cornea transplant surgeries. “I wasn’t worried about the operation itself,” he said. “I knew they do the surgery under local anesthesia and the patient doesn’t have pain.” What Bill didn’t know, though, was that through an advancement in transplant surgery and eye banking called DSAEK, Saving Sight was able to provide his surgeon with tissue specially prepared for Bill’s unique eye problems. “I wasn’t aware they could do partial-thickness corneal grafts,” he said. In other words, the DSAEK corneal tissue was prepared such that Bill only had to have part of his cornea replaced. “Dr. Cavanaugh, my surgeon, got rid of the diseased endothelial layer of my cornea and transplanted the donor endothelial layer,” Bill explained. This less invasive procedure resulted in a reduced recovery time. “There were no stitches needed,” Bill said. “They put an air bubble in there and you stay laying down for 24 hours while it adhered.” In fact, Bill’s recovery after the first transplant in August 2013 was so successful that he was able to get the second cornea transplant less than three months later.
“It was quite an experience thanks to the kindness of two donors,” Bill said. “I‘m able to see pretty well now.” In fact, Bill has 20/40 vision in both eyes and wears trifocal lenses. So now he gets to better enjoy his well-deserved retirement, including returning to his favorite hobby. “I plan to do some more riding,” he said.
“I bought a new motorcycle. I’ve been holding out for a liquid-cooled, metallic red Harley-Davidson. It should arrive any day now.”
To join the millions of Americans like Bill who signed up for the donor registry, register onlineat DonateLifeAmerica or at your local Department of Motor Vehicles office. And be sure to share your decision with your family and friends.
For Jamie from Branson, Missouri, cornea transplantation has been a truly life-enhancing experience. Jamie works for Tantone Industries, a nonprofit sheltered workshop that provides meaningful work opportunities to people like Jamie who have developmental disabilities. Additionally, as a resident of Branson, he loves to watch the country and gospel music shows for which the city is so famous. Jamie suffers from keratoconus, though, which could have caused him to go blind in both eyes, losing his ability to work and enjoy the music shows. But thanks to cornea transplantation, he has regained his sight.
Jamie’s second transplant is still in the healing process, but his vision is already greatly improved. “I can see everything clearer,” said Jamie. “Dr. Tauber is a really good doctor. I’m happy with the transplants. I’m happy I have good eyes to see. It’s really good not wearing the contacts.” This improvement has been most noticeable at one of Jamie’s favorite pastimes: the Branson music shows. “When we go to the shows, the people know him and speak to him,” said Dorothy. “Normally we ask for a seat in the third or fourth row, but after the first surgery, we sat in the twenty-third row and he could see.”
The transplant was a success. “I had to stay still for a day or two after surgery, but my vision in the left eye was 20/30 afterward,” Anne said. “It was a very easy procedure to go through.” Furthermore, the benefits of the surgery have continued for Anne. “I ordered new glasses after the surgery, and I am still wearing those glasses,” she said. “My sight has changed so little in seven years that new lenses are not necessary.”
Sue’s vision continued to improve. “I learned I had to be patient and trust my doctor,” she said. “Stay in good communication and develop a good relationship with the doctor. Mine is very good. I trust her skill and knowledge.” But the moment of realization for Sue, when she knew how far her vision had improved, was when she was quilting, one of her favorite pastimes. “I started a landscape quilt for my husband while recovering from the first surgery,” she said. “After the second surgery, I took it up again to work on. I sat down at the sewing machine to change the thread. Just a month before, I had to ask other people to thread the needle for me. Without thinking about what I was doing, I started to thread the needle, and I did it. It took me a moment to realize what I had just done. I was so excited!”
