Darius's Journey: Overcome Eye Infection

My Journey Through a Fungal Eye Infection & Cornea Transplant

By Darius Williams

What started as a routine day turned into the most difficult experience of my life. I wore contact lenses that I later found out were expired back in February. While removing one, I scratched my cornea — and by the next morning, I had a painful ulcer in my eye.

I went to LensCrafters, where the doctor prescribed antibiotic drops. I used the entire bottle, but there was no improvement. At the follow-up, he gave me a refill, and when it still didn’t help, he referred me to Milan Eye Center. Unfortunately, my job insurance wouldn’t begin until April 1, and the out-of-pocket costs were beyond my reach.

Taking my mother’s advice, I wore an eye patch while waiting. But we didn’t realize it was a fungal infection — and wearing the patch created the perfect warm, dark environment for the fungus to thrive. The pain was excruciating.

Desperate for help, I went to Atlanta Vision. There, the doctor recognized it as a fungal infection and prescribed generic antifungal drops from a local pharmacy. They gave me some relief, but the damage was already done — I had lost my vision in that eye. I could only see faint hand shadows in bright light.

When April came and my insurance kicked in, I returned to Milan Eye Center. They cultured my eye and confirmed it was indeed a fungal infection. I was prescribed voriconazole antifungal drops and tablets and attended four follow-up visits. Despite treatment, I was told I’d need a cornea transplant.

I had no more PTO at work, my bills were stacking up, and I couldn’t afford the co-pays or prescription costs. Milan referred me to Emory Eye Center. After a full evaluation, their team told me I needed emergency surgery to stop the infection from spreading to my retina.

On April 14th, 2025, I underwent cornea transplant surgery. I haven’t been cleared to return to work yet, and I’ve now been out for two weeks. The medical bills, prescriptions, and basic living costs haven’t stopped. I’m doing what I can — I’ve returned to driving Uber part-time (I’ve completed over 24,000 trips as a Diamond Driver across 8 years) and I work as a beer line technician when fully employed. But right now, I’m just trying to survive and protect the transplant.

I’m humbly asking for help from the community. Anything you can offer — whether financial support, a kind word, or sharing my story — helps me stay on the path to recovery. I’m truly grateful to friends and family who brought groceries so I could eat and take my meds properly. Your kindness has kept me going.

Thank you for reading my story and standing with me.

— Darius Williams