Help Brooklyn McCasland Recover from Acanthamoeba Keritis

My name is Jojo Yoder and as some of y’all know my sweet friend, Brooklyn McCasland, got diagnosed with Acanthamoeba Keritis and it hasn’t allowed her to work for over a month. She’s finally getting the treatment she needs, but she still can’t go back to work as this will be a slow journey for her. She will most likely need a Cornea Transplant and I would love it if you can help me help her. She has shared her journey with us and I’ve copied and pasted that below. Please feel free to share with your friends.

I was recently diagnosed with Acanthamoeba Keratitis which is a rare corneal infection. It affects 1 in 1,000,000 contact lens wearers. If I would have known that from not swimming in my contacts I could’ve avoided all of this pain, I would have never done it. You can get it from using tap water to clean and disinfect contact lenses, including the lens case or from swimming with contact lenses. Acanthamoeba keratitis has been found in almost all water sources from pools to hot tubs and showers. In my case, I believe I got it swimming at the beach.

This infection mimics other common infections so at the time I was put on steroids and a handful of other drops. My doctor was very accommodating through this whole process and did the best she could trying to treat me. Unfortunately, none of the treatment worked because it wasn’t the common infection we thought it was. I was in the most pain I’ve ever experienced and eventually went fully blind in my right eye. I was told that once treated some of the haze should go away and I might just be left with a little bit of scarring. With working outside, and the sun making it more painful, I had to take off work for a month (I’m so gracious for my job for allowing me to do so). I was going to eye appointments every 2 days and each time there were no clear answers as to what it was.

After being misdiagnosed for a month and a half, I was recommended to a cornea specialist in Tyler, Tx. Then from there to a different doctor in Dallas so they could do a more in depth culture which was also extremely painful. I went back to my eye doctor in Tyler for another appointment and kept praying in the waiting room that God would give me answers. Once I got in with the doctor, he said we still didn’t have any results so we were just shooting in the dark like we had been. I started feeling discouraged. As I was leaving that appointment and checking out, I got a call from my doctor in Dallas. They told me they had the results back and to try to go back to grab a nurse so they could go over the results with me. It’s amazing how perfect God is in his timing, and just when I was losing faith he gave me the answers I needed.

I got the results back that I had AK and that I could possibly go permanently blind or lose my eye if not starting treatment immediately. I got put on Chlorhexidine (which is also in pool cleaners) and Brolene. Because this infection is so rare, the drops that are used for treatment are only made in the UK. Luckily, the doctor’s office in Dallas had a couple of samples so I could start treatment as soon as possible. The first 24 hours after receiving my drops I needed to apply them every 30 min throughout the night, now I put them in every 30 min from 6am - 12am. My doctor said I will most likely be on these drops for months as it is such a slow healing process. There is a possibility I will need to get a cornea transplant once we get rid of the infection. This could take months but I’m thankful that we know know exactly what it is and I’m able to start the correct treatment.

I’ve had so much love, support, and prayers and I am seriously so grateful for my friends and family during all of this. I know God will get me through it. I hope my journey will help prevent anyone else from going through this. Please keep praying. Thank you.