Taylor's Road to Regaining Sight
Donation protected
On Sunday August 14th I was cleaning out the trunk of my car in preperation to move back to Ohio University for my senior year when a freak accident happened; a small rock-sized object flew up and hit me in my left eye. I was in immediate pain and had no sight in my eye at all, everything was milky white. My mom rushed me to the emergency room where the Dr. who examined me determined that I need more specialized care than he could provide. I was sent to University Hospital and was seen by multiple ER doctors and Opthalmologists who determined that the damage to my cornea and iris was so extensive that I need to go in for surgery immediately to repair the damage, and keep me from completely losing sight forever.
The emergency surgery lasted three hours and the doctors told my parents that I had a 9mm cut across the middle of my cornea, one of the worst they had ever seen, and that the lens in my eye had also become detached. All of this meant that I still did not have sight and would need multiple more surgeries to clean up the damage and repair my eye. I was told that further down the road, the only way I would see was with a full cornea transplant.
The doctors at University Hospital consulted with doctors from the Cincinnati Eye Institute about my case, and on Thursday morning I had an appointment with a retina specialist, where I met Dr. Snyder. It was decided that I would go in for surgery again the next Tuesday, and Friday morning August 19th I went in to see Dr. Snyder for my pre-op work up. On Tuesday, August 23, Dr. Snyder performed surgery to remove the detached/damaged lens and performed a victrectomy to remove some of the vitreous fluid from the back of my eye. Unfortunately, he was unable to put in a new lens because of the damage to the capsule that the lens would have been placed on, which means that I am still left with little to no sight in my left eye.
Since the surgery, I can detect shadows and colors with my eye, but I cannot truly see shapes. The only way I will regain full(hopefully) sight will be through a future lens replacement surgery and a possible cornea transplant, all later down the road. It could be 6 months from now or it could be five years before I get my sight back in my left eye.
Even with my school insurance, the costs of all the surgeries, multiples visits with the doctor, and prescriptions eye drops have all started to add up and will only continue to increase. With the nature of the past two surguries and the future surguries, there is no telling how long the recovery with be and how long I will have to see a specialist for this. And unfortunately, not all of the prescription eye drops are covered by insurance because there is no generic version. One small bottle alone cost us $160, and it will have to be refilled at least once. My mom has had to miss work, unpaid, for almost two feel weeks for all of this and will continue to miss work for my future surguries and recovery process. I am also missing work at my part time job at school, meaning that my mom and I are struggling not only to pay the hospital bills, but just to pay our own bills at home. We are both full time students on top of working and while we did have a small amount in savings in case of emergencies, it will not stretch much further.
If you feel so inclined, we humbly ask that you provide us with any donation possible. All money recieved will go directly to my medical and monthly bills, and bring me one step closer to regaining my vision. Even if a donation is not possibly, I appreciate your prayers and your support. My family and I are extremely greatful to everyone who has shown me support in throughout all this, you have all been amazing.
Thank you, and God Bless!
The emergency surgery lasted three hours and the doctors told my parents that I had a 9mm cut across the middle of my cornea, one of the worst they had ever seen, and that the lens in my eye had also become detached. All of this meant that I still did not have sight and would need multiple more surgeries to clean up the damage and repair my eye. I was told that further down the road, the only way I would see was with a full cornea transplant.
The doctors at University Hospital consulted with doctors from the Cincinnati Eye Institute about my case, and on Thursday morning I had an appointment with a retina specialist, where I met Dr. Snyder. It was decided that I would go in for surgery again the next Tuesday, and Friday morning August 19th I went in to see Dr. Snyder for my pre-op work up. On Tuesday, August 23, Dr. Snyder performed surgery to remove the detached/damaged lens and performed a victrectomy to remove some of the vitreous fluid from the back of my eye. Unfortunately, he was unable to put in a new lens because of the damage to the capsule that the lens would have been placed on, which means that I am still left with little to no sight in my left eye.
Since the surgery, I can detect shadows and colors with my eye, but I cannot truly see shapes. The only way I will regain full(hopefully) sight will be through a future lens replacement surgery and a possible cornea transplant, all later down the road. It could be 6 months from now or it could be five years before I get my sight back in my left eye.
Even with my school insurance, the costs of all the surgeries, multiples visits with the doctor, and prescriptions eye drops have all started to add up and will only continue to increase. With the nature of the past two surguries and the future surguries, there is no telling how long the recovery with be and how long I will have to see a specialist for this. And unfortunately, not all of the prescription eye drops are covered by insurance because there is no generic version. One small bottle alone cost us $160, and it will have to be refilled at least once. My mom has had to miss work, unpaid, for almost two feel weeks for all of this and will continue to miss work for my future surguries and recovery process. I am also missing work at my part time job at school, meaning that my mom and I are struggling not only to pay the hospital bills, but just to pay our own bills at home. We are both full time students on top of working and while we did have a small amount in savings in case of emergencies, it will not stretch much further.
If you feel so inclined, we humbly ask that you provide us with any donation possible. All money recieved will go directly to my medical and monthly bills, and bring me one step closer to regaining my vision. Even if a donation is not possibly, I appreciate your prayers and your support. My family and I are extremely greatful to everyone who has shown me support in throughout all this, you have all been amazing.
Thank you, and God Bless!
Organizer
Taylor Baird
Organizer
Cincinnati, OH