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.
Thanks to a transplant, Russ is able to clearly see the smiles on his daughters’ faces.
As busy parents, we rely on many things to help us balance a full work and home life. One of those things that we often take for granted is the ability to see clearly.
Thousands of individuals suffer from corneal blindness each year, limiting their vision and ability to perform everyday tasks such as driving the kids to school or reading a computer screen at work.
For Russ, living with effects of corneal blindness was a reality. In high school he was diagnosed with keratoconus- a condition in which the cornea becomes thin and cone-shaped causing vision distortion.
While his condition was corrected for many years with contact lenses it progressed in his early 30’s to the point where his doctor suggested a corneal transplant.
While the thought of corneal transplant surgery might have been daunting to some, Russ looked forward to the improvement in his visual quality. Working as an IT analyst was becoming a challenge with reduced vision.
“It was difficult at a computer all day,” recalled Russ. “I found myself using zoom a lot.”
Restored vision would also help Russ keep up with his two young daughters, ages 5 and 2, allowing him to enjoy seeing all of the milestones in their young lives with clarity.
Today, thanks to his legacy of his cornea donor, Russ is seeing clearly with 20/25 vision. While Russ has always been a member of his state’s organ and tissue donor registry, his support of donation has now taken on new meaning.
“My biggest reason for donating- why wouldn’t you help someone else to see,” said Russ. “It just doesn’t make sense not to be a donor.”
Diane is grateful to her donor and their family for the decision that saved her sight.
As a retired educator, Diane can attest to the importance of developing good reading skills for success in life. However, when Diane’s vision began to deteriorate from keratoconus she got a whole new perspective on students who have difficulty reading.
“You just give up,” said Diane.
At age 30 Diane was diagnosed with keratoconus- a condition in which the cornea is abnormally cone-shaped, causing significant visual impairment. For many years she was able to wear glasses or contact lenses to correct her vision. However, over the last several years Diane’s condition reached a point where she could only wear contacts for a few hours, having to remove them because of the pain they caused. Without the corrective lenses she was legally blind- unable to read, drive at night, dial a phone or use a computer.
“It’s one thing to be at home and not be able to see,” said Diane. “It’s another to be in an outside environment.”
The physical limitations of being legally blind affected Diane’s ability to teach reading classes at a local community college. Essentially, life went on hold.
In November, Diane underwent a corneal transplant surgery to restore vision in her left eye. The transplant was successful, and today Diane can see more clearly and her vision continues to improve on a weekly basis. Next year she will undergo a transplant in the other eye.
After her transplant experience, Diane felt it was important to share her thanks with her donor’s family via the Eye Banks’ anonymous correspondence program.
“The fact that someone would do this for me or someone they don’t know- it’s like a soulful experience,” said Diane. “I feel like I am looking through someone else’s eyes. It’s life-changing, and I wanted to reach out and thank them.”
Diane had also experienced a loss when her oldest son was killed in a plane crash while serving in the U.S. Air Force. While she and her family knew that he wanted to be an organ and tissue donor, due to the circumstances of his death while serving our country donation was not an option.
Today, Diane is a proponent of the miracle of organ and tissue donation- not only because of her own experience but because she understands the healing that the very giving act of donation can have for grieving families.
Today JoAnn volunteers with the Eye Bank to encourage others to become organ and tissue donors.
Imagine a world where you cannot clearly see your loved one’s face or expressions. Sadly, this is a reality for thousands who suffer from corneal blindness. For many, the last option for clear vision is undergoing a corneal transplant surgery, allowing them to see the world again through the generosity and legacy of an eye tissue donor.
JoAnn of western Kansas struggled with poor vision for many years. In high school she was diagnosed with keratoconus- a condition is which the cornea becomes thin and cone-shaped, seriously distorting vision. For years, her condition was treated with special contact lenses. However, in 2005 the keratoconus progressed to a point where only a corneal transplant surgery would restore her vision.
After consulting with her surgeon, that fall JoAnn received a transplant that changed her vision forever. Her immediate reaction post-transplant was forever memorable.
“Oh my goodness, I can see my husband!” she recounted.
In addition, she can now see her two children and five grandchildren clearly. The transplant has given her the independence and ability to enjoy many aspects of life that she couldn’t because of keratoconus. Today, JoAnn is an active volunteer with the Eye Bank and has spoken about her experience as a transplant recipient in support of donation.
“Everyone should donate,” said JoAnn. “They had a cornea for me- that’s such a blessing. I thank the dear Lord everyday.”
