Eversight Illinois Vision Spring 2017 SpringVision_IL_19Apr17_FNL | Page 7
Evelin’s struggle with corneal blindness began 10 years earlier.
At just 20 years old, Evelin endured progressive vision loss and
a series of misdiagnoses before finally receiving an explanation
for her problems: keratoconus.
“I didn’t know if I would go completely blind,” Evelin said.
“I asked my doctor if I would ever get to see the simple things
like colorful flowers or my family’s faces. I didn’t know if my
eye disease would end my dreams.”
Fortunately, Evelin regained hope when she learned a cornea
transplant could restore her sight. Now, eight years after
her surgery, Evelin has a successful career in the medical field
and can enjoy all of life’s finest details—like her 5-year-old
son’s smile.
Living with keratoconus
Special thanks to Parag A. Majmudar,
M.D., President and Chief Medical
Officer of Chicago Cornea Consultants,
Ltd., for providing information about
keratoconus and the innovative
corneal cross-linking treatment.
Dr. Majmudar
Every year thousands of people are diagnosed with an
eye condition called keratoconus. The disorder is a
common cause of corneal blindness in which the cornea
progressively thins and steepens into a cone shape.
The cornea acts as a window and allows light to pass
through to the retina to project a clear image to the
brain. In keratoconus, however, the abnormal shape of
the cornea results in a distorted image.
Symptoms & treatments
As the condition worsens,
patients often experience
a variety of symptoms
which interfere with their
visual acuity and ability to
complete daily tasks, jobs
or other responsibilities.
Common symptoms may
include:
Donor mother
September Vaudrey
displays a painting
by her daughter,
Katie.
Evelin’s gratitude motivated her to do more than just write
to September. It inspired her to set up a meeting.
So, during the first week of November, Evelin and September
finally had the chance to embrace and share their
interconnected stories at Eversight Illinois in Chicago.
As September hugged Evelin for the first time, she said,
“Thank you so much for being willing to meet me. It
means so much.”
Evelin simply replied, “No, thank
Katie.”
Eversight Illinois helps facilitate
correspondance between recipients and
donor families. If you are interested in writing
to a donor family or recipient, contact
Brittany Wright, Community Relations Liaison,
at [email protected].
• Increased light sensitivity • Difficulty driving at night
• Eye strain, headaches
• Seeing halos around lights
and eye pain
Transplants have provided the gift of sight to countless
patients with keratoconus, but new innovations offer
a variety of other options. One of these therapies, which
has become a first-line treatment for keratoconus all
over the world, is called corneal cross-linking (CXL).
CXL employs ultraviolet light and a photosensitizer to
increase corneal strength and halt the advancement of
the bulging caused by keratoconus. This therapy was
previously only recommended for progressive cases, but
CXL is now being used to preserve corneal shape and
function for both young patients and those whose
conditions could possibly worsen.
Similar to cornea transplants, CXL is an outpatient
procedure and takes about 60–90 minutes. Patients
typically recover their baseline visual acuity within
48–72 hours.
The future of CXL
As CXL continues growing in popularity, surgeons
anticipate the procedure will be offered to every child
and adult at the first onset of keratoconus. With
increased education about CXL it might even be possible
to change the keratoconus paradigm from a reactive
treatment (i.e. performing a transplant) to a proactive one.
Spring 2017 | V I S I O N | Page 7