Good News! To see again...

Matt.19: 26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

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Well folks, good news came in the way of a telephone call yesterday.

As many of you know, if you’ve read my blog, that my beau is blind. We’ve been trying to get help, we’ve been praying, and maybe our prayers have finally been answered. He needs a cornea transplant and cataract surgery and we’ve found out that one eye, his right eye, has possibilities.

Our first trip to Omaha was wind swept and the long drive was tiring and back-aching. It’s a four hour trip both ways; that’s four to Omaha and four hours back home. The first trip we met with 35 mph gusting to 45mph winds which, you might think me a big sissy, but driving on a narrow two lane interstate, with wind pushing and shoving the truck to and fro, is not a fun task.

In front of me trucks were swerving left and right trying to stay in their lane, to my left cars flying by me at no less than 80 mph, and to my right, a rippled edge to keep drivers awake? Well at 80 mph hour that ripple helps you in losing control of your vehicle. On that day, I never reached 65mph. It was sixty all the way. To top it off, it was a ninety degree day and we have no A.C. in the vehicle, so it was also a dripping wet travel experience.

This trip was more pleasant. No winds, cool temps, still back aching, but a nice trip nonetheless. We were in the office maybe twenty minutes then it was back home.

The wait. We had to wait for the dr.’s office to let us know, if after looking behind the cataract via an ultra sound, if the eye was well enough to go through surgery so beau can see again.

The call. It came and she (the assistant, never a doctor) said beau needed more test but the dr. thought that the eye looked well enough back there to perform surgery. Good news!!! A resounding WOOHOO!!

Another trip. Well actually it will be many many more trips back to Omaha, but our next trip is scheduled for November 13. The doc is going to do even more tests, hopefully put him on the cornea donor’s list, probably get him to see a dermatologist and a sinus expert (preferably in Kearney) closer to home.

The wait. More waiting as we’ll have to wait for someone to die, to donate a cornea and be a perfect match. To think that God already has someone picked out to die so my beau can see again is scary. His last doctor was scrupulous in picking out a cornea and did all the aids testing, and other transferring tests that needed to be done so that the surgery was successful. He got an eighteen year old suicide victims cornea last time. It had a life expectancy of twenty years and lasted only seven in my beaus body. I pray for that boy and the family who donated his cornea. And I pray now for the next person and their family.

We wait in anticipation of seeing again. If only for a year, two years or seven, he will see once again if things go well! That is certainly GOOD NEWS to share with you all!!!

Cornea Transplant

It garnered a cornea transplant!

It was a severe enough infection to warrant a cornea transplant. "We can’t save it," the doctor told my friend. Acanthamoeba keratitism is the technical term the doctor used in diagnosing my friends eye condition.

Usually occurring in contact lens wearers, especially those who attempt to make their own homemade solutions, or use plain tap water to clean the lens. My friend had used bacteria laden water that in the long run, damaged his cornea.

This diagnosis was something my friend wasn’t prepared to hear, but he had to prepare himself for the obvious transplant to take place.
He was put on a list of cornea donors, and the long wait began for a match and a donor. When days turned into months, my friend, was becoming anxious. He wanted to see out of his left eye again. The doctor needed a perfect match, free of any prior illnesses, It had to match the exact blood type, and many other compatibility measures were taken.

The wait seemed endless and led into months of anxiety, when finally the word came "We found a match". It echoed through the phone lines while friends and family rejoiced. On the very day of the scheduled surgery, he was told, "It’s not a good enough match."

Can you imagine the disappointment we all felt, not to mention the let down to my friend? He was so prepared, yet let down in a single moment.
Frustration mixed with a level of not having hope. After another seemingly endless wait, he got the call again and was told, "We found a match." He had no hope left so he was apprehensive the day of the scheduled surgery.

The match WAS perfect. Unfortunately it was a nineteen year-old suicide victim who eventually saved my friends eye. It’s amazing that this one donor gave a part of himself in death, to help my friend see again. I imagine the family felt relief from their grief when deciding to donate.
The surgery was a success and my friend can now see out of his left eye again. He is VERY cautious when cleaning his lens, always using the recommended solution for the task.

He has worn contact lenses for many years, and it took a short period of time of cleansing it with bacteria infested water for it to cause severe damage to the cornea. The task of cleansing the lens becomes so mundane; you never think of the damages that can occur during cleansing.

The loss of his eyesight made him appreciate the beauty of life we all take for granted. Now as we fast-forward four years, he has developed an eye infection in his right eye. He has no vision in this right eye and scarring on his left eye (from recurring infections). All of this has rendered him legally blind (but reversible).

Ocular herpes is like a cold sore on the eye. It has the same recurring affects. It comes when it pleases and rests when it deems fit. My friend is being treated, but now has to wait until the infection is ‘quiet’ for a year before any operation can take place.

Often times we take for granted our sight, not realizing the importance of taking care of the very necessities that give our life meaning.

Beauty is creeping all around us and without sight, you better hope that your other senses kick into gear or you will lose the stamina to continue functioning in this world. Everything in life seems to be about what you visually ‘see’, but always remember beauty lies within! Take care of it, take care of YOU!

Are YOU a HERO?

Are You a Donor?
In today’s world people overlook necessities and just run headlong into their own little cosmos. They never stop to think of other people and getting ahead of the game to them means, success at winning the game.

Have you ever thought about becoming an organ donor? You see stories on television where one person donates a kidney, and you say "Aww that is so special, I wish I had the nerve to be that brave."

We’re in an age that everyone can be a hero to someone else! Why does someone wait until their loved one is tragically killed to be approached to ask if you’d like to donate their much needed organs? What is everyone afraid of?

I have a friend who needs a cornea. He has to wait until someone tragically dies and hopes that the young cornea is available to him. There is urgency with cornea donations. Apparently the cornea doesn’t refrigerate and keep for weeks. Five-days tops is the maximum time for corneas. My friend had a cornea transplant in his left eye a few years ago and I was saddened to hear that a young man of eighteen had committed suicide and his parents donated his organs. Now he desperately needs a cornea transplant in his right eye, or he will stay ‘legally blind.’

When we die, our bodies become shells. Empty cavities where all of our innards are taken out and tossed in the garbage. Our death means something to only our immediate family and friends. By donating your organs, your death becomes a significant part of someone else’s life who can keep just one small part of you alive and living!

Having a part of you alive gives solace to your family. Knowing parts of you are still in existence gives them the feeling that they can move on in their life knowing you are still alive somewhere. Spiritually your soul lives on,(some may disagree) so why not on a physical level, keep your organs alive? If you believe when you die, you die, you’re gone, out of this world never to be heard from again. Why would you remain selfish even in death? Wouldn’t it become your last sacrifice? Wouldn’t donating your organs make you somewhat a hero to someone else, making you a legacy in someone’s, anyone’s mind?

In this day and age, you can still be a hero! You don’t have to pull someone from a flaming fire, save someone from a flooding car, retrieve a cat out of a tree, you can donate an organ and to a family become the hero of legacy proportions in their minds and your family’s minds.

Think about it. Be a hero. Keep YOUR life…alive! If you’ve always felt a failure, this is one instance you can make your family proud! Do it for you, if not for someone else.