Eye Surgery for Savvy

Hello, and thank you for visiting this page. My name is Niek Betten and I've created this page because my wife, Savannah (lovingly known as Savvy to family and friends) is in need of eye surgery. She was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease called Keratoconus in 2011. It is a fairly rare condition which causes a thinning of the cornea resulting in distorted vision. At first she was fitted with hard contact lenses which helped for a short while, but the condition has continued to progress to a point where the only option is corneal transplant surgery according to doctors. Surgery is needed in both eyes, but especially in her left. At her last eye appointment it was confirmed she was legally blind in the left eye and the right was not far behind, and her sight has gotten worse since then.

Her poor vision has made it impossible for her to drive, and very difficult to do things like read, use the computer, climb or descend stairs, and even recognize people until they are very close. All these have made it very difficult for her to find work. Right now she can still get by but her vision is steadily getting worse. Those of you who know Savvy will know that she loves to make art, and that is becoming increasingly difficult as well. She has had an optimistic attitude but her eye condition has really begun putting a strain on her day to day life.

The surgery will be done by Eye Surgical South in Dothan, Alabama. The cost that was given to us is $5000.00 per eye. This does not include follow up care, travel expenses, medicine, etc.

Because Savvy has no insurance and we are budgeted with my income, we have no way to pay for this surgery. It has been put off for too long, and the time is coming when she will have no other option. We are reaching out to family and friends for donations, positive thoughts and prayers.

We are setting our goal at $10,000.00. I know that is an enormous amount. Every little bit helps, and anything donated will go toward the costs.

We have no surgery date scheduled yet as we have no way to pay for it, but the plan is to have surgery conducted on the left eye first and when that eye is properly healed (a process which can take several months, unfortunately), the right eye.

There are risks as with any surgery, but we are praying hard for success.

If you are able and willing to donate even a couple of dollars, we thank you so very much. If not, we are thankful for your prayers. Please share this page with your friends so we can get Savvy's vision back to how it should be! I will be adding more information and updates as things progress.

Thanks again!