Hi friends,

Many of you may or may not know this about me, but I have high prescription, making me pretty blind without contacts or glasses.

To give you an idea of how blind I am, consider that the military accepts people with up to -8 diopters of vision.... I am -16.5 diopters in both eyes, with astigmatisms. Most people range between -1 and -3 diopters.

Until now, I have never been a candidate for correctable surgery. FInally, I am eligible for implantable contact lenses (ICL). This procedure is not considered "medically necessary" since I am correctable up to 20/25 with glasses/contacts, and therefore has 0% chance of being covered by insurance. This will be a life changing surgery for me, and I cannot contain how excited and grateful I am to have it done.

The surgery is almost $10k, and covers ICL, followup Lasik (because the strongest ICL isn't enough to fully correct me), and followup visits for 1 year post surgery. I will have a payment plan for anywhere between 2 to 5 years. Any amount of donation to help me pay off this medical debt is greatly appreciated.

<3 Rachel

Fun facts about my invisible disability!

- My first skydive was done BLIND because my contacts fell out!

- I cannot make out shapes or any fine detail unless it is about 1 inch from my eyes without contacts/glasses

- I started wearing contacts at 12 years of age

- My glasses are reduced and polished by 20%- they should be thicker! Wearing them for extended periods of time hurts my ears and nose because they are so heavy

- It costs me ~$70/month to be able to see after averaging out the cost of annual exams, glasses/contacts and specialists.

- Every part of my life revolves around having my glasses/contacts within arms reach at all times.