Help save Jonathan eyesight

Hi I am Jonathan i have had Type 1 diabetes for 29 years and at age of 33 was diagnosed with Diabetic retinopathy.

Where we are at so far.

This January after the sweet throwing of three kings here in Spain my husband Robbie

Jefferis throw a sweet too me that hit me square in the left eye (very painful

and I may have punched him)

This incident (Now know as the Gummy Bear incident of 2021)

set off a series of events that lead me to write this post.

To begin the surface of my left eye was scratched and did not heal well so I went to a ophthalmologist.

I was told that the surface of my eye had a minor scratch that had almost completely

healed. However after his examination he discovered that I had a number of retinal

bleads as many as 15 if memory serves me right, the course of treatment recommended

was multiple laser surgeries one eye one week the other eye the next.

A total of

2 Consultations €170 each

1 Radioactive dye injection to highlight the bleads €380

8 laser surgeries €550 each

2 more consultations €170 each

About 6 different eye drops every 4 hours Aprox €200

And the clinic is a 200km round trip from home aprox €40 per trip and around 25€ in tolls

The condition is called diabetic retinopathy often caused by poor control of the diabetes however

in my case more the longevity of the condition and some poor control in my teen

years (who didn’t rebel)

After all of the above treatment was completed at the cost of €5430 not including fuel okay yes yes i worked out the fuel €520 and toll’s €325 and time off work. I was told that I now needed Anti inflammatory injections as the intensive laser treatment had caused swelling in the back of the eye (macular edema)

To treat this would require minimum of 3 interocular injections per eye over 3 months at

€1800 per injection per eye and 6 200km round trips as there was a free consultation after the injection.

So €10,800 later plus €240 in fuel plus €150 in tolls I attended my free consultation expectant of some good news but no they tell me I need another injection in each eye oh joy another €3600

So after 4200Km up and down 30days unable to work €760 in fuel €525 in tolls €19830 in treatment (Helped greatly by donations from family and friends)

Today I went for my final consultation to be signed off for 6 months or so I thought.

Today July 29th I am told that my situation is improving my vision is good maybe only 8% down in one eye but I can read the bottom line of the chart with no glasses on fantastic I think big smile on my face hidden my a mask of course only to be slapped away.

No the consultant now says the my vision is only good due to the affect of the injections (sort

of like cortisone I think) and that it is his recommendation that I have a further1 injection in each eye ever 2 months for a year then every 4 month for another year possibly the rest of my life.

So that’s €21,600 in the next 12 months and €10,800 the following and maybe the rest of my life.

Bearing in mind Minimum wage in Spain is €12,600 per year and average is €27,000 this feels like an impossible goal.

So to sum up me this year so far I am FINE freaked out, insecure, neurotic and emotional.

(yes stolen from the itilian job i am a Mini nut still )

Oh and before any of you aske the Spanish public health system NHS in the uk and HSE(Ireland) will not provide the injections until my vision is 40% impaired. How nice that is.

Anyway if you made it to the end well done I would have got board half way through.

I put a similar message to this out on facebook and had many lovely messages from friends and familly and other Mini nuts ;) It was sugusted i set up this fundraiser campaine. Any help at all is greatly appreciated.