Eye Disease Has Me Drowning in Debt
Donation protected
Eight years ago, when I was 17, I was diagnosed with a very rare disorder called vitelliform macular dystrophy, or Best’s Disease. It is a hereditary disorder, which causes the progressive loss of central vision. If left untreated, the damage to the eye becomes irreparable and will eventually cause blindness. The only treatment for Best’s Disease is an injection directly to the eye. There is no cure.
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Best’s Disease has made my life difficult. During my third year in college, my eyesight suddenly deteriorated drastically, making me have to withdraw from school for the semester. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time, not that there’s ever a good time, but it came when I was almost finishing school after having taken out all these loans just to study. When I entered school, I didn’t know I would become affected by this disease—to this day my doctor still cannot figure out what triggered it. Had I known this would happen to me, I would have studied at a cheaper institution close to home.
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This issue has now put me in a bad financial position. For the past 5 years, I have been receiving injections in both eyes on a monthly basis, but now have to be treated every 3 weeks to keep my disease under control, which makes keeping a steady job very difficult because I have to take so much time off. With my health insurance expiring at the start of next year, my school loans have become my immediate concern. The last thing I want is to end up having both my treatment and loan payments on top of me if I’m unable to find an insurance plan that will cover my treatments right away. Getting my school loans completely out of the way will help me focus solely on getting better without worry looming over my head. I don’t see any other way out.
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Best’s Disease has made my life difficult. During my third year in college, my eyesight suddenly deteriorated drastically, making me have to withdraw from school for the semester. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time, not that there’s ever a good time, but it came when I was almost finishing school after having taken out all these loans just to study. When I entered school, I didn’t know I would become affected by this disease—to this day my doctor still cannot figure out what triggered it. Had I known this would happen to me, I would have studied at a cheaper institution close to home.
***
This issue has now put me in a bad financial position. For the past 5 years, I have been receiving injections in both eyes on a monthly basis, but now have to be treated every 3 weeks to keep my disease under control, which makes keeping a steady job very difficult because I have to take so much time off. With my health insurance expiring at the start of next year, my school loans have become my immediate concern. The last thing I want is to end up having both my treatment and loan payments on top of me if I’m unable to find an insurance plan that will cover my treatments right away. Getting my school loans completely out of the way will help me focus solely on getting better without worry looming over my head. I don’t see any other way out.
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Organizer
Christine Valentin
Organizer
New York, NY
