Hello, my name is Valerie Delgado. I am a military spouse, mom of three very active kids under the age of 10, avid reader, and amateur woodworker.

I am also suffering from several health conditions, with the most critical for my health and wellness being the loss of my vision due to a degenerative eye condition called keratoconus. I was erroneously diagnose with astigmatism at the age of twelve, but the diagnosis was changed to Keraroconus once my usual eye doctor noticed that my vision was deteriorating at a speed which was nor normal for a child my age. After the formal diagnosis at 14 years old, my doctor attempted to slow down the condition with a number of treatments that were available at the time, including hard contact lens of different kinds, and then the 'piggyback' mode, with soft contacts going on top of the hard contacts to hopefully make my eyes tolerate the hard lenses. Unfortunately, my eyes rejected the lenses each time, causing severe pain whenever they were inserted, and the inability to see or even keep the lens inside my eyes no matter what we attempted. With little else available, at 15 I was told that my only option was to wear glasses and wait until my eyes deteriorated to the point where corneal surgery would be my only option. This was, of course, completely devastating to me as a teenager. I was faced with the fact that I would most like be going blind, and my career in the military (which was something many people in my family— including my Korea war ver grandfather— had done before me) to end before it even began, since I had preemptively taken the test to join the army in preparation for it. I was an avid sports fanatic as well, and played anything I could, including basketball, baseball, and softball. I could no longer do those, as I couldn't tell distances apart and my reaction time was completely gone due to my vision problems. Keratoconus also often left me experiencing color auras, light spots, vertigo, and crippling migraines that would knock me down for days, and later weeks at a time. All my plans for the future were struck down, leaving me drifting with no real idea of where to go and what to do next after I finished high-school.

At nineteen years old, I reconnected with my best friend since third grade after we hadn't seen each other for three years, and we fell in love and married after my husband had decided to join the military. While experiencing all of the firsts of a married couple, like getting our own home and having our first child, I was being treated for the condition, but not much advancement had been done for me to be able to fix my worsening eye condition. This came to a head in 2020, when I began to see an uptick in eye fatigue, dizzy spells, migraines, and episodes of blurred eyesight. I could no longer do the things I loved, including writing, drawing, or even watching TV without squinting to get some semblance of on image, which led to more fatigue and headaches. After a PCS to Florida, I was sent to an eye specialist, where they finally told me it would be possible to fix my vision with new surgeries that had now been approved by the government to treat conditions such as mine. The only issues came from insurance suddenly telling us that my eye condition wasn't advancing fast enough for them to cover anything, despite me being treated for 12 years and going from struggling to see to being legally blind.

My vision, however, is still worsening, and I can't wait until I go fully blind to do something. I need this surgery, and the sooner I get it the higher are my chances of not having corneal scarring (which can stop the chance of getting the surgery), or even a rupture of my cornea from the pressure as it bulges outward. Everything in my life, from playing with my kids to doing my hobbies, depends on me having my eyesight. I need this surgery to take care of my kids and watch them grow. I absolutely cannot wait, as I can feel it worsening month by month as I struggle more and more to use my eyes for anything.

Donations would go towards saving up for the surgery, which would be done in Pensacola by an excellent corneal specialist who has done her best to get my plan to approve my surgery to no avail. They would also go towards getting a service dog and its training, vet costs, and physical exams to make sure they don't suffer from any genetic conditions that may prevent them from assisting me. I suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and work-related injuries that prevent me from using my hands for periods of time without being in excruciating pain. While in an ideal world I'd be able to take care of all the expenses myself, my injuries and conditions prevent me from doing so, and a one paycheck home of 5 people doesn't allow us to save up in time for me to not lose my vision.

So I am humbly asking for assistance when I need it most in life. Anything you donate will be put to use for the service animal and my corneal surgery, and any amount is appreciated. If you can't donate, please share. My vision is an crucial part of my life, and I want to be able to see my kids grow, to admire the nature I so love to explore, and to build the little projects I once loved to make in my home-made wood shop.

Thank you for your time, and for any help given in advance,

Val~

Update: We recieved news today at my appointment!! While I have developed another condition (a type of cataracts), my corneas are stable enough to qualify for a different surgery. This one is not only much cheaper, but it also has a higher recuperation and success rate! Instead of the 25k, we now only need to raise 15k to get everything sorted. This is both exciting and a major relief for myself and my family. The surgery is scheduled for February of next year, and we will do one eye at a time. As always, we are extremely grateful for the help you have given us, and hope you continue to share and might donate so we can meet our end goal for the surgery.