As a manager, husband, father and grandfather, Steve was missing out on seeing many things in life. As his vision worsened, he thought he might need a stronger prescription. When Steve went to the eye doctor in 2012, they determined he had an eye condition called Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy.
“When my doctor told me I had Fuchs’ I didn’t know much about it and went back home to read up on it,” said Steve. Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy is a hereditary eye disease that causes vision to worsen as an inner layer of the cornea deteriorates. If left untreated, one can lose sight in that eye.
Over a 5 year period, Steve’s eyesight declined, causing him to lose the ability to read normal print. Driving at night also became a challenge for him. “I had lost a lot of that visual acuity,” said Steve.
As an office manager, Steve’s work requires a lot of reading and time on the computer. The decision was made for Steve to have a corneal transplant in 2015. “I thought it important to go ahead with surgery and thought it was important to do it to keep my level of performance at my job. It made a big difference,” said Steve.
Because of the generous decision and gift of corneal tissue from a donor and their family, Steve can now continue to work the next several years until retirement. Steve chose to write to his donor family through Saving Sight’s correspondence program to thank them. “I know that there are a lot of generous people out there and that’s one side of that – that someone made that decision – I wanted to let their family know how much I appreciated it,” said Steve.
Prior to his transplant, Steve did not have a connection to donation or know much about the transplantation process, though he has been a blood and platelet donor in the past. Steve said during the process there was a lot to learn about the eyes and the impact of what it means to go through the surgery and the healing process.
“From my first diagnosis, to the surgery, to the healing process – that whole process takes a while – but it’s an interesting adventure to see yourself healing,” said Steve.
His transplant and recovery were a success. And Steve said that the generous gift of sight has improved his quality of life immensely. “It gives me more enjoyment – brighter colors and clarity – there were things I was missing that I didn’t even know I was missing.”
To join the millions of Americans who have signed up for the donor registry, register online at Donate Life America or at your local Department of Motor Vehicles office. And be sure to share your decision with your family and friends.
Gentry came into the world completely blind. Born with congenital glaucoma and a protruding left cornea, Gentry had her first eye surgery when she was just two days old and received her first cornea transplant at one month to reconstruct her left eye and correct corneal cloudiness. While glaucoma is an eye disease commonly associated with the elderly, the reality is glaucoma affects people of all ages. Today at the age of four, she’s overcome more than 20 separate surgeries and five cornea transplants, including a prosthesis.
Gentry’s snowman artwork is featured on Saving Sight’s 2015 holiday card.
In spite of every obstacle she’s faced, Gentry is a happy pre-kindergartner, enjoying friends and her first year of school. That Gentry dances, plays, and reads just like other kids her age, is an achievement of modern medicine and her parents’ enduring support. As Gentry’s mother Becky put it, “It’s amazing where we started at compared to what Gentry’s able to do now.”
Though she had never encountered donation or transplantation before her daughter’s birth, Becky knows how important the the gift of sight is to people of all ages. Recently, her own family was directly impacted through the tragic death of a cousin, and because of Gentry’s experience, eye, organ, and tissue donation were important to the family’s legacy.
Our programs are preventing vision loss and changing the lives of many like Gentry, but we can’t achieve that mission without your support. This holiday season, please consider making a special, meaningful gift. By supporting Saving Sight, you help rescue thousands from the heartbreak of vision loss.
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.
As a manager, husband, father and grandfather, Steve was missing out on seeing many things in life. As his vision worsened, he thought he might need a stronger prescription. When Steve went to the eye doctor in 2012, they determined he had an eye condition called Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy.
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.”