Help me see again!
Donation protected
Quick Summary:
I currently do not have health insurance nor am I eligible for care credit. I have a cataract that developed after a hemorrhage behind my eye that continued for months and have gone from a -2.00 to a -10.00 and counting in my right eye in a little over a year. I have also lost color quality in my right eye due to the hazy brown hue of my cataract.
The Full Story:
At the time that this all started I was riding a bicycle through several neighborhoods of Jersey City multiple times a day to perform my various jobs. I was completely exhausted and frustrated while riding in the cold weather. At some point on one of the days while I was chaining my bike up, I hit my head on the pole when my bike slid down. I thought I was okay and went about my day with a brutal headache and eventually a black eye and a huge knot on my head. I made the mistake of slipping in a nap somewhere in between jobs.
Within a few weeks of this I started having blackout episodes and terrible migraines over my strong eye. During this time I was suffering major fatigue and thought it was an oncoming cold or flu that never came. The vision loss was so gradual at the time that I barely even noticed until I actually had to drive on the highway at night and couldn't see the lines. I was already wearing glasses to correct a -2.00 in my right eye, but over time the glasses were no longer working and only contributed to making me dizzy. In one of my later tests I had a mass show up behind my eye which was originally thought to be a tumor but was later ruled out as a large amount of scar tissue due to a hemorrhage from head trauma. Two doctors tried to send me referrals to doctors I could not afford instead of just telling me the deadly words: "You have a cataract."
This past winter I had several tests done on my eye after no longer being able to see while driving with my headlights on. My current eye doctor has agreed to write me a referral to have correction done to my eye. Originally we were going to wait until I got the health benefits from a job I was going to take, however after many months of waiting it still has not happened. I am now at a -10.00 and my night time vision is so bad that I can't see much of anything out of my right eye which together with my left eye gives me no depth preception. I wear a contact lens over the bad eye to take the strain off of my good eye and prevent me from having migraines, however it does not correct the vision fully due to the severity of the cataract. I still cannot read signs or distinguish writing. I also have a hard time being able to read the computer screen or my cell phone.
All in all, I want to have this taken care of but I just don't have the money. The income from my business is enough to pay my living expenses and to live somewhat comfortably but I am just not making enough to cover a surgery in full in the time frame that I need to have it done. It's important that I take care of this as soon as possible before it gets any worse. I am only 30 years old and this has been devastating and is preventing me from being able to go out and do things that I should be doing once the sun goes down.
If I meet my goal and after surgery there are proceeds, I will award the remaining money to a local cat rescue organization that has done tremendous work in our community. This will fund spay and neuter surgeries on needy cats in my mother who loved animals and my dearly departed client Donna who was affiliated with this organization and took care of a cat colony in Jersey City. All donors will receive a public acknowledgement.
Thank you for reading this and any contributions will be graciously appreciated!
I currently do not have health insurance nor am I eligible for care credit. I have a cataract that developed after a hemorrhage behind my eye that continued for months and have gone from a -2.00 to a -10.00 and counting in my right eye in a little over a year. I have also lost color quality in my right eye due to the hazy brown hue of my cataract.
The Full Story:
At the time that this all started I was riding a bicycle through several neighborhoods of Jersey City multiple times a day to perform my various jobs. I was completely exhausted and frustrated while riding in the cold weather. At some point on one of the days while I was chaining my bike up, I hit my head on the pole when my bike slid down. I thought I was okay and went about my day with a brutal headache and eventually a black eye and a huge knot on my head. I made the mistake of slipping in a nap somewhere in between jobs.
Within a few weeks of this I started having blackout episodes and terrible migraines over my strong eye. During this time I was suffering major fatigue and thought it was an oncoming cold or flu that never came. The vision loss was so gradual at the time that I barely even noticed until I actually had to drive on the highway at night and couldn't see the lines. I was already wearing glasses to correct a -2.00 in my right eye, but over time the glasses were no longer working and only contributed to making me dizzy. In one of my later tests I had a mass show up behind my eye which was originally thought to be a tumor but was later ruled out as a large amount of scar tissue due to a hemorrhage from head trauma. Two doctors tried to send me referrals to doctors I could not afford instead of just telling me the deadly words: "You have a cataract."
This past winter I had several tests done on my eye after no longer being able to see while driving with my headlights on. My current eye doctor has agreed to write me a referral to have correction done to my eye. Originally we were going to wait until I got the health benefits from a job I was going to take, however after many months of waiting it still has not happened. I am now at a -10.00 and my night time vision is so bad that I can't see much of anything out of my right eye which together with my left eye gives me no depth preception. I wear a contact lens over the bad eye to take the strain off of my good eye and prevent me from having migraines, however it does not correct the vision fully due to the severity of the cataract. I still cannot read signs or distinguish writing. I also have a hard time being able to read the computer screen or my cell phone.
All in all, I want to have this taken care of but I just don't have the money. The income from my business is enough to pay my living expenses and to live somewhat comfortably but I am just not making enough to cover a surgery in full in the time frame that I need to have it done. It's important that I take care of this as soon as possible before it gets any worse. I am only 30 years old and this has been devastating and is preventing me from being able to go out and do things that I should be doing once the sun goes down.
If I meet my goal and after surgery there are proceeds, I will award the remaining money to a local cat rescue organization that has done tremendous work in our community. This will fund spay and neuter surgeries on needy cats in my mother who loved animals and my dearly departed client Donna who was affiliated with this organization and took care of a cat colony in Jersey City. All donors will receive a public acknowledgement.
Thank you for reading this and any contributions will be graciously appreciated!
Organizer
Crofty McCroft
Organizer
