Jason's Corneal Transplant
Donation protected
My journey began just over one year ago. I am a 34 year old devoted husband, father and self- employed construction worker. On April 10th 2014 I woke up with a terrible pain in my left eye; a pain that kept me bed ridden for much of the day. Being what most would describe as a go getter that was very unusual for our family. I coped with the pain through most of the day but as evening drew near I knew something was wrong. That evening we headed to the hospital and was informed of scratch on the cornea of my eye. The doctor had given me eye drops to use but as the night got longer something just didn’t seem right. We packed up our things and headed to the E.R. By this time my vision was very blurry and objects were becoming hard to make out. This trip turned out to be nothing but a waste of our time. The following morning I called my optometrist to have him take a peak. Within minutes of the exam he informed us that we needed to see a specialist ASAP. Once in the exam room he determined that I had a corneal ulcer in the direct center of the left eye, which is about the worst place for an ulcer to form. This directly blocks the vision of the pupil. We then started to treat the infection that caused this ulcer very aggressively. I was put onto two different antibiotic eye drops to be seated in the eye every 30 minutes around the clock. This meant no sleep. The specialist wanted to see me every day for the next week to make sure that things were improving. With having a two year old daughter, things were a bit frustrating … That’s where our loving and supporting family helped out tremendously. By this time my vision had gone from bad to worse. Silhouettes and shadows were beginning to be the only things I could see. The eye was bright red in color and very painful at times. The exams and drops continued for the next week. A glimpse of hope came when the doctor saw a hint of improvement but was then followed by stationary results. At this point, there were no promises about the vision being restored.
With few to no signs of improvement it was time to take another, more aggressive step. A hard plastic contact like lens was installed into the eye. This lens contained amniotic fluid for extreme healing power. Hoping to wear the lens for 4-5 days things were cut short with a major fluid buildup behind the lens. Picture a puss like looking fluid trapped behind the lens. With only half the scheduled time wearing the lens I was beginning to feel frustrated and scared. Being almost a month into this journey with minimal sleep, no work and a lot of frustration it was taking a toll on our life. We then were sent to another specialist for an ultra sound and waited patiently for the results. Within an hour of the visit concluding my phone rang and doctor determined that we needed to head to UW Madison hospital that evening. We packed up our things, hitched a ride with our amazing family, and headed on the 2 hour ride to Madison. Upon arrival they wasted no time trying to figure out what was going on. Multiple tests, slide swabbing’s, and a biopsy were conducted. With the lab taking a look at the tests for the next week daily trips were made to Madison to keep a very close tally on my eye. A more powerful antibiotic drop was prescribed and the results were in. NOTHING came back positive as a cause for all of this. Now you wanna talk frustration….With the drops being inserted in the eye only every hour now I was getting some sleep. Haha.
By August 25th 2014 we had no answers. I was then sent to see a corneal specialist in UW Madison. With her expertise she thought this looked to be a fungal infection. Still with no certainty from the lab we needed to treat this infection with her gut instinct. A fungal infection is “slow to grow” and “slow to go” she informed us. At this point she was able to see 4 ulcers on the eye, some being much larger than others and the infection was definitely present. The new prescriptions were filled and hope continued for regained sight. It was now September 3rd and the traveling to Madison seemed like it would never end. These appointments were still needed to make sure things weren’t worsening. The eye was now completely white, and clouded over making it nearly impossible for the doctor to see beyond the cornea. With continued medication it was time to try another biopsy to see if we couldn’t get a cause of this infection. Failure again. This is when I was first told the corneal transplant will almost be a must. At this point we were just concentrating on the eye not to get any worse. We then decided we needed to get another opinion. Off to Froedert eye hospital in Milwaukee we went. The doctor took a look, tests and some slides of his own to see if there lab could find any results. About one week later the phone rang with more bad news. None of his slides had shown any results either. Now this seemed really weird. With many more trips to Madison, boatloads of eye drops, ultrasounds, and still no results I was freaking out. I was back to work taking on small tasks and explaining to clients that some work may have to be on hold. My right eye was still functioning so I made the best of it at this point.
It was October now, realized that deer hunting wasn’t an option this year, so we started making plans of how our fall and winter was gonna play out. By this point mention of surgery was starting to linger and talkof how long this journey could really be. The eye was red with cloudiness but infection seemed to be under control. The biopsy area is healed over, but doctor still can’t see anything beyond the cornea so information about regained vision was still foggy.
With continued monthly trips to Madison and daily eye drops nothing has been changing too much through the month of March. The infection is completely gone but still no vision. At this point the talk of the corneal transplant is in full affect. Vision restoration is hopeful but not promised with the scarring in the center of the pupil. I have been adjusting to many things as the time passes but some still remain difficult.
Summer was now right around the corner and work was picking up. How was I going to handle all this? Some difficult tasks seemed impossible but with help from my co-workers we were managing quite well. Driving became quite easier and other than the trips to Madison and daily drops things were pretty calm for the next few months. The doctors wanted to make sure that the blood vessels were returning to normal and pressure in eye was under control.
Surgery was drawing near now. During a routine pressure check things went from bad to worse. My pressure was at 30, which is more than double what it should be, and medication was changed again. I was now on two new drops and an oral pill to stabilize the pressure for surgery. Three weeks had gone by and I wanted to schedule another exam to see how pressure was. At this visit it was nearing the 50 mark. Not good at all. Immediate action was taken with a series of drops and pills to get it at least back to the 30 mark. Now we knew something else was going on. I was then scheduled to see a glaucoma specialist. After talking with her we determined she will also need to be in the operating room the day of surgery. A tube will be placed in the eye to help with drainage of fluid and control pressure.
End of June is now here and talks of corneal transplant options are on the table. Do we want to try a donated cadaver cornea or a man-made version. Talking with the doctor she suggested we try the cadaver one. This entails much less complications and much less work in the future. Ultrasounds were taking and now it was time to find a match. With the pre-operation exam complete on August 3rd all eyes are focused on the prize. Vision restoration. Surgery is scheduled at the end of August at UW Madison hospital. The operation will take about 4 hours and the cornea will be sewn back into place with 16 stitches after the tube is installed. Removal of the stitches will take a few sessions to make sure new cornea is fully seated.
Thanks to all of you that have helped The Jason Last Family to this point and look forward to seeing everyone in full color come August28th.
With few to no signs of improvement it was time to take another, more aggressive step. A hard plastic contact like lens was installed into the eye. This lens contained amniotic fluid for extreme healing power. Hoping to wear the lens for 4-5 days things were cut short with a major fluid buildup behind the lens. Picture a puss like looking fluid trapped behind the lens. With only half the scheduled time wearing the lens I was beginning to feel frustrated and scared. Being almost a month into this journey with minimal sleep, no work and a lot of frustration it was taking a toll on our life. We then were sent to another specialist for an ultra sound and waited patiently for the results. Within an hour of the visit concluding my phone rang and doctor determined that we needed to head to UW Madison hospital that evening. We packed up our things, hitched a ride with our amazing family, and headed on the 2 hour ride to Madison. Upon arrival they wasted no time trying to figure out what was going on. Multiple tests, slide swabbing’s, and a biopsy were conducted. With the lab taking a look at the tests for the next week daily trips were made to Madison to keep a very close tally on my eye. A more powerful antibiotic drop was prescribed and the results were in. NOTHING came back positive as a cause for all of this. Now you wanna talk frustration….With the drops being inserted in the eye only every hour now I was getting some sleep. Haha.
By August 25th 2014 we had no answers. I was then sent to see a corneal specialist in UW Madison. With her expertise she thought this looked to be a fungal infection. Still with no certainty from the lab we needed to treat this infection with her gut instinct. A fungal infection is “slow to grow” and “slow to go” she informed us. At this point she was able to see 4 ulcers on the eye, some being much larger than others and the infection was definitely present. The new prescriptions were filled and hope continued for regained sight. It was now September 3rd and the traveling to Madison seemed like it would never end. These appointments were still needed to make sure things weren’t worsening. The eye was now completely white, and clouded over making it nearly impossible for the doctor to see beyond the cornea. With continued medication it was time to try another biopsy to see if we couldn’t get a cause of this infection. Failure again. This is when I was first told the corneal transplant will almost be a must. At this point we were just concentrating on the eye not to get any worse. We then decided we needed to get another opinion. Off to Froedert eye hospital in Milwaukee we went. The doctor took a look, tests and some slides of his own to see if there lab could find any results. About one week later the phone rang with more bad news. None of his slides had shown any results either. Now this seemed really weird. With many more trips to Madison, boatloads of eye drops, ultrasounds, and still no results I was freaking out. I was back to work taking on small tasks and explaining to clients that some work may have to be on hold. My right eye was still functioning so I made the best of it at this point.
It was October now, realized that deer hunting wasn’t an option this year, so we started making plans of how our fall and winter was gonna play out. By this point mention of surgery was starting to linger and talkof how long this journey could really be. The eye was red with cloudiness but infection seemed to be under control. The biopsy area is healed over, but doctor still can’t see anything beyond the cornea so information about regained vision was still foggy.
With continued monthly trips to Madison and daily eye drops nothing has been changing too much through the month of March. The infection is completely gone but still no vision. At this point the talk of the corneal transplant is in full affect. Vision restoration is hopeful but not promised with the scarring in the center of the pupil. I have been adjusting to many things as the time passes but some still remain difficult.
Summer was now right around the corner and work was picking up. How was I going to handle all this? Some difficult tasks seemed impossible but with help from my co-workers we were managing quite well. Driving became quite easier and other than the trips to Madison and daily drops things were pretty calm for the next few months. The doctors wanted to make sure that the blood vessels were returning to normal and pressure in eye was under control.
Surgery was drawing near now. During a routine pressure check things went from bad to worse. My pressure was at 30, which is more than double what it should be, and medication was changed again. I was now on two new drops and an oral pill to stabilize the pressure for surgery. Three weeks had gone by and I wanted to schedule another exam to see how pressure was. At this visit it was nearing the 50 mark. Not good at all. Immediate action was taken with a series of drops and pills to get it at least back to the 30 mark. Now we knew something else was going on. I was then scheduled to see a glaucoma specialist. After talking with her we determined she will also need to be in the operating room the day of surgery. A tube will be placed in the eye to help with drainage of fluid and control pressure.
End of June is now here and talks of corneal transplant options are on the table. Do we want to try a donated cadaver cornea or a man-made version. Talking with the doctor she suggested we try the cadaver one. This entails much less complications and much less work in the future. Ultrasounds were taking and now it was time to find a match. With the pre-operation exam complete on August 3rd all eyes are focused on the prize. Vision restoration. Surgery is scheduled at the end of August at UW Madison hospital. The operation will take about 4 hours and the cornea will be sewn back into place with 16 stitches after the tube is installed. Removal of the stitches will take a few sessions to make sure new cornea is fully seated.
Thanks to all of you that have helped The Jason Last Family to this point and look forward to seeing everyone in full color come August28th.
Organizer
Kristie Last
Organizer
Winneconne, WI