Help Sundee Save Her Eyesight

Hello. My name is Sundee Mulume, 20 years old, wife to Salama and proud mom to 2 year old daughter, Zawadi. We live

in Manitoba, Canada. I also suffer from Keratoconus, a disease which, in severe cases like mine, will lead to complete

blindness without immediate surgical intervention.

While pregnant with my daughter I started to notice blurs in my vision. I didn’t take it too seriously, thinking it was a

normal symptom of pregnancy. But even after Zawadi was born my vision did not improve, but continued to worsen.

When my daughter turned 1 year old, I was encouraged to get my eyes checked. After testing the optometrist came

back with the diagnosis, “Keratoconus”, a word I’d never heard before. “Keratoconus is a condition in which the clear

tissue on the front of the eye (cornea) bulges outward.” Symptoms include blurred vision, light sensitivity, distorted

vision, double vision and progressive loss of vision, in some cases leading to total blindness.

While the initial diagnosis was frightening, I was unprepared for how quickly the disease would affect me. Within a year I

have lost independence in many ways, as my vision has deteriorated rapidly and I have lost complete vision in my left

eye. Basic task like cleaning the house, trying to read a menu and even grocery shopping have become almost

impossible without assistance. I have mostly struggled in silence, not wanting to be a burden on anyone, but that is no

longer an option.

Earlier this spring, I received a referral to a specialist with the hope that I could have surgery to correct this condition.

When I met with the specialist I was informed that surgery (corneal cross linking) would only halt the progression, but

would not improve my vision. I also received glasses at the time, but they were of little benefit.

Surgery was scheduled for as soon as possible, but I found that I was pregnant with baby number two! We were

overjoyed by this huge blessing, but, unfortunately, this meant that we needed to postpone the surgery to February,

2025, after the baby was born. Then in May I suffered a miscarriage. This was devastating to me and my family. But

within all the pain, I tried to find the positive in the hope that I might be able to have my eye surgery earlier, but no

earlier dates were available.

A few weeks ago, at a regular check in, a new doctor was straight with me, letting me know that my left eye had

completely deteriorated and my right was following quickly. He had serious concerns that there would be nothing left to

preserve by my February surgery date. I was in desperate need of immediate medical intervention and there were no

options for me in Canada. I traveled to Texas and consulted with a specialist who confirmed that I need immediate help

due to the severity of my case.

The first procedure would be Corneal Crosslinking to try to preserve the small amount of vision remaining in my right

eye and stop the progression of the disease. Secondly, I will need scleral contact lenses which will restore the vision that

I have lost. These lenses will need to be replaced annually.

This has brought hope to what I thought was a hopeless situation. While we are so grateful for the help that I have been

able to receive from the doctors here, we know the journey ahead will be difficult as I will require 2 surgeries, one for

each eye. We have confidence that with these special lenses I will make a full recovery. Unfortunately, these procedures

are not covered under our existing health insurance and we will be required to pay for all travel and medical costs.

Here’s a breakdown of the costs in Canadian Funds:

Travel: $1,700

Doctor visits: $800

Corneal Crosslinking surgery: $21,000

Sclarel Lenses: $2,000 annually

Total Cost in Canadian funds: $25,500

We appreciate your prayers and any financial assistance you are able to offer. Thank you for taking time to read and

hear my story.