Dear Donor Family,

My name is Caroline and I am the 52-year-old recipient of your loved one’s cornea. I am writing to thank you for your family member’s gift of not only my sight, but also the light that carries my hopes and dreams. Without this incredible gift I would not be capable of composing this letter today.

Before my transplant, I had been slowly losing my eyesight for several years. My vision loss was caused by an autoimmune disorder that went undiagnosed for over two decades. I was in a great deal of pain every day and had lost almost all my independence. One day I left the house not realizing I had put my clothes on inside out! I was constantly running into things, I had no depth perception and excruciating photophobia. Trying to see the world was like looking through a shattered piece of glass. I was no longer able to work or travel, cook, or even play or read books with my grandchildren. My heart was just broken when on my 50^th birthday the doctors told me there was nothing else they could do for me…they said exactly these words…”Maybe someday in your lifetime.”

Almost two years have passed since that diagnosis and today, because of the gift I received, I was able to see my granddaughter for the first time…I mean really see her. My journey has taken me across the country several times and I am at last able to live on my own and read and write (just a little slower). I can take walks by myself and I can bake a magical chocolate cake!

I am having trouble trying to express my overwhelming gratitude, yet keeping in mind the grief that you must still be experiencing. When my Dad passed, I was completely inconsolable, so I want to share a story (true story) with you in hopes that my message of gratitude will be more clear.

“You call me out upon the waters. Your faithful hand will be my guide.”

I was told before the transplant that I would have to wait for my autoimmune disorder to be in “remission” (for lack of a better word) for at least a year before they would consider me as a candidate. As with all autoimmune disorders “remission” is, for me anyway, just another way to say…have your mind, body and heart all on one page. So I moved 2000 miles…to the Atlantic Ocean. I worked on myself and I waited…I even called my place “The Waiting Place.” As I was there off-season, the beach was completely empty…no tourists, just blue skies and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. I felt “safe” walking on the beach although I could not see…occasionally I would walk through fishing lines or a sandcastle without realizing. And it never failed that when I did venture out I would run into that young couple that would ask me to take their picture and I would have to sadly decline. In December, a little over two months post-transplant, I took a walk on the beach. To be completely honest, at that time I was out of eye pain for the first time in over twenty years, however my sight was still much distorted and I was questioning whether or not I had done the right thing. The doctors had all said it was a high risk and that I could lose the eye if the graft was not successful. On that day in December, with NO ONE within miles of me…I walked upon the following message written in the sand.

“You call me out upon the waters. Your faithful hand will be my guide”

One week later, my vision in the operative eye was 20/40.

THANK YOU ALL for this incredible life gift. Because of your compassion… I am a “walking miracle” and my daughter and grandbabies have their “Baba” back.

Fair Winds and Following Seas,

Caroline

I am a three-time corneal tissue recipient.

In 1984-85 I had recurring corneal scratches on both eyes from wearing hard contact lenses.  I was diagnosed with Keratoconus.  I began wearing “piggy-back” lenses (a soft contact lens over the cornea with a hard contact lens on top), which worked fairly well for about a year.  In October 1986 and 1987 Dr. Gary Foulks at Duke Eye Center performed corneal grafts (epikeratoplasty) on both eyes.  This worked well with the aid of either glasses or contact lens for about 20 years.

In late 2006 I began to experience significant glare problems.  Dr. Terry Kim at Duke Eye Center told me that my cornea were getting “wavy”, distorting the light refraction, resulting in glare.  My diminishing ability to see caused numerous problems:   seeing the computer at work, driving safely, reading and watching television.  I had to use binoculars to see the printing on my 32 inch television sitting 9 ½ feet away.  To read the newspaper or a book I used a pair of 5.0 reading glasses and a magnifying glass.

In Spring 2009 Dr. Kim performed cataract surgery and lens implants in both eyes.  The right eye improved to 20/40, but the left eye only 20/200, due to the corneal degeneration.

In 2010 my vision was improved by a pair of hybrid contact lenses (hard center/soft outer portion).  Unfortunately, I had a difficult time removing this type lens and finally had to stop wearing them.  My prescription glasses were no longer helpful, leaving me with no way to correct my vision and significantly impacting my quality of life.

In November 2012, Dr. Kim performed a corneal transplant on my left eye.  The improvement has been stunning—very little glare, much better vision (from 20/200 to about 20/30).  After approximately a one year recuperation, I hope to be fitted with either prescription glasses or contact lenses to get my vision close to 20/20.

Thanks to the work of the Miracles In Sight and its dedicated staff, the amazing medical technology available today and most importantly the caring, thoughtful donors and their families, people like me are able to lead a more normal life once again.  I can’t think of a better legacy to others than to give someone an improved quality of life by being a corneal tissue and organ donor.  I know that I will.

Jerome Wheeler, MIS Surgical Recovery Specialist, has quite a connection to eye donation and corneal transplantation. Jerome’s daily work is recovering corneal tissue needed for transplant. The gift of sight was, and continues to be a very personal journey for Jerome and his family.

“In 1999, Dr. Terry Kim, Professor of Ophthalmology at Duke University Eye Center told my wife and I that our son, Shane, would be the youngest patient to receive corneal transplant surgery…at 6 days old, Shane’s vision was saved.”

Now, seventeen years later, Shane’s transplant has lasted longer than 90% of patients at Duke University Eye Center! The entire Wheeler family, especially Shane, is looking forward to continued success with this very special gift.

“I am grateful and honored to be part of the system that saved my son’s vision. And I truly believe that my continued service here has a Spiritual impact on the great success/progress my son has experienced.”

Jerome Wheeler

My story began on a June day in 2013.  Probably well before then, but I remember this one day in particular as the day I realized something was really wrong with my right eye.  I glanced to my right to acknowledge a co-worker in my doorway and immediately realized the vision in my right eye was so cloudy I couldn’t see anything but a silhouette.  I had been experiencing blurriness, halos, cloudiness, burning and an overall gradual decline in my vision for quite some time, which had been diagnosed and treated by my optometrist as dry eye.  On this fateful day, I knew I had bigger problems to deal with.  I immediately contacted an eye specialist in my area and within one week I was sitting in a cornea specialist’s office hearing the news that a recurrent infection had caused irreversible scarring and damage to my cornea; my vision would only worsen.  Thus began my journey through not one, but two, DSAEK (partial) corneal transplants in my right eye.

By the time I underwent my first transplant more than a year later in October of 2014, I was experiencing pain and vision deficiencies demanding that my life revolve around my worsening eye condition.  The pain was constant, I experienced daily headaches, eye exhaustion, extreme light sensitivity and, obviously, my vision itself continued to decline.  My eye condition touched every facet of my life: my marriage, my children, my job, my social life and my ability to remain physically active.  I eventually found myself planning my life around my condition and my days became identified as “good eye days” or “bad eye days.”  I was anxious to have the procedure, get through the recovery and return to living my life the way it was before.

Two weeks after surgery, I was advised by my doctor that my new cornea was not responding or functioning as expected.  At two months post-op, my transplant was deemed unsuccessful and a second transplant procedure was recommended.  I elected to transfer my medical care to Duke Eye Center and began working toward my second transplant with my new surgeon, Dr. Taras Semchyshyn.  In September of 2015, I underwent my second DSAEK corneal transplant performed by Dr. Semchyshyn.  Thus began my second round of recovery complete with multiple applications of anti-rejection eye drops, fingers crossed and high hopes for success.

In the five months since my second corneal transplant, my right eye vision has improved to where it stands now at 20/40 with no correction.  My new cornea is clear with no cloudiness, no halos, no light sensitivity and, best of all, no pain!  I’m able to exercise and run and play with my daughters without fear of injuring myself.  I am able to stay up late and get up early without suffering the painful consequences of a severely swollen cornea.  My life no longer revolves around my troublesome and debilitating eye condition.

I can’t thank both of my donor families enough for choosing to donate their loved ones’ eyes so that others like me might see.  I will always remember to take the time to enjoy and appreciate the visual beauty that surrounds me not only for myself, but also for my donor, whose selfless act of generosity has given me the most precious gift I have ever received.

Read more about what we do, donating tissue and more.

Anita Reeder Hardister was a giver all of her life. It was in her DNA I suppose. At a mere eleven years old she witnessed her father give his life in an attempt to save a young woman from drowning. Our family was awarded the Carnegie Hero Medal of Honor for his fatal sacrifice. That level of giving shaped her and lent to who she would become.

My Mama always gave even if it meant she went without. She was a teacher to many children in and out of the classroom. She dedicated her entire life to giving of herself in some capacity. She never wanted accolades and at her funeral, I began to learn of many of the things she did in private to help others. She didn’t want fanfare or praise, she gave because she felt it so deeply in her soul to assist those in need in any way she could manage to help them. She passed on July 30, 2011, and to this day, I still am learning of the things she did to reach others and give them hope. She was adamant about organ donation and I know she would be thrilled to know her donation to your foundation assisted someone in seeing the world as she did.

I was her only child and the bond we shared was like nothing I can begin to put into words. She loved me so fiercely and she instilled in me the need to give as well. She said I was the love of her life, and then when my sons, Aaron Seth and Luke were born, she found room in her huge heart to make them the loves of her life as well.

She loved music, sewing, and reading every book she could get her hands on. Her quick wit and storytelling ability were a source of constant entertainment for every person who had the honor of knowing her. She took great pride in teaching Sunday school at our church for twenty-plus years. She didn’t brag but she was quite the writer as well. The last written work of my Mother. She was awake at two in the morning on July 20, 2011, unable to get up on her own. She called me into her room and ask me to crawl onto her big, comfy bed beside her. She told me she wanted me next to her as I read her finished product. It was much like the days of my childhood when I found safety and security, nestled next to Mama, reading to each other. The words below gave me chills, in my heart, I truly believe she knew her last days were upon her. I wept as I saw her handwriting had become shaky, but her grammar and punctuation were still very much intact. Our eyes met as they had so many times, and she managed to whisper, you will need this baby.I escaped to her room minutes after she was gone, and there at her beside was her well-kept notebook, pencil in the binding, and this poem there for me to see and read on my own this time. Thank you, Mama, for leaving me with such a beautiful way to see death and the legacy you left for Seth, Luke, and myself.

“I just wanted to share about my husband, Jim. He passed away on June 11, 2021 and his eyes were donated through your organization. His heart valves, arteries and skin grafts were also donated. Jim was a wonderful, loving, attentive husband of 42 years.Read More