Hello, my name is Aaron, and I need your help to keep from going blind.  After a lifetime of 20/20 vision, I woke up one morning, at age 29, and couldn't see.  I was diagnosed with severe keratoconus.  My eyes are now unable to hold their correct shape without oversized rigid contact lens.  Even with the specialized, expensive lenses, my vision is poor.  The side effects of the lenses, including eye pain and light sensitivity, have had negative effects on my day-to-day life.  I can no longer play sports with my friends, run with my fiancée, or linger outdoors at family gatherings or social events.  Reading has become a strenuous, headache-inducing chore that has impacted my work and continuing education.  The ongoing treatment has been expensive, and I have depleted my savings and gone into debt trying to fight this disease.  I need to raise $5,000 to save my eyes.  Any amount that you can spare will have an immediate impact on my ability to receive the procedures and keep hope alive.

Based on the rate of deterioration, my eye doctor predicted I would need corneal transplants within a couple years.  Fortunately, an experimental procedure called Collagen Cross-Linking will halt the deterioration of my corneas.  While not a cure, it is critical to stop the deterioration immediately.  Other, non-transplant treatments are available as long as my eyes don't get any worse than their current state.  The procedure is not covered by insurance.  While it may receive FDA approval in 2015, there is still no guarantee it will be covered, or that the procedure will be cheaper once it is approved.  My specialists at the Wilmer Eye Institute  Johns Hopkins referred me to Dr. Pramanik, the doctor performing the trial.  Please feel free to contact me with any specific questions.