Help Danny see again

*Español abajo*

My name is Ernest Minnema. My best friend, Danny Calderon, has recently been affected by a very special case of cataract. Danny is a passionate nature and adventure guide and his eyes are his primary tools. He will not be able to get surgery in the common health insurance system in Costa Rica, because they do not have the lenses that he needs. Therefore, his only opportunity to see properly again is by going to a private clinic that he can't afford. Please help us to raise the funds to get Danny back in the saddle again!

Here is Danny's story, as written by himself:

My name is Danny Calderon, 33 years, and husband and father of my family. I have always worked as nature guide. Since I was a little kid, I have been very passionate about nature and conservation. That is why I decided to work in nature, raising awareness about conservation amongst the many visitors of our beautiful Costa Rica. I have always lived a healthy and active life and have never been admitted to a hospital before I developed an autoimmune disease in November 2021. My life changed drastically and my health has never been the same since. Although I am still fighting my immune disease, one of my worst problems is loss of sight. Probably as a result of medication I was given.

Beginning November 2021 I started feeling that my body didn’t have the energy and strength that I am used to. Because I felt tired and heavy, I had a blood check. The results showed that my levels of blood platelets were so low that I was at high risk for internal bleeding.

So, on the 8th of November 2021 I went to the hospital for more tests to see what was actually going on with body. While these tests were done, the doctors tried with various medications to see if they could avoid reoccurring drop in platelet levels. Luckily, this treatment kept me out of the danger zone. But it didn’t fix the problem. By January, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura for which I was being medicated with corticosteroids, steroids, immunoglobulins, and a high doses of prednisolone and dexamethasone for the 8 moths that I spent in the hospital. Additionally, I got a heavy treatment with Rituximab for over a month. This treatment seems to be responsible for creating my vision problems as a result of the extremely high doses that were used. After a long process of trying to figure out why I was so sensitive to bright light (and being told by our common health insurance doctors I should “just try to see better”), my close friend Ernest Minnema pushed me to see a private doctor and paid for the appointment. At the private clinic they at once diagnosed me with cataract between my retina and cornea (deeper in the eye than usual). They informed me that I would have to undergo surgery to have new multifocal intraocular lenses placed in both eyes before the situation becomes impossible for me to cope with. Only then I will be able to recover the life that I worked so hard for. The life of showing other people the amazing nature of our country and once again being a passionate host to people visiting Costa Rica. The life I truly identify myself with.

*Español*

Mi nombre es Danny Calderón, tengo 33 años, soy esposo y padre de familia y trabajo como guía de turismo. Desde joven he sido muy apasionado por la naturaleza y su conservación, es por esto que decidí trabajar rodeado de la naturaleza y sus maravillas. Siempre he sido una persona muy sana y muy activa, nunca me había tocado estar internado en un hospital hasta que desarrollé esta enfermedad autoinmune y desde noviembre del 2021 que fui diagnosticado; mi vida cambió por completo y mi salud nunca fue la misma. Además, sigo luchando con mi enfermedad autoinmune, uno de mis mayores problemas ha sido la pérdida de mi visión. Probablemente como resultado de los medicamentos que estuve tomando.

Para inicio de noviembre 2021 comencé a sentir mi cuerpo con menos fuerza de lo normal, con mucho cansancio y mi cuerpo pesado, me hice exámenes de sangre (hemograma) y el resultado fue que tenía demasiado bajos mis niveles de plaquetas, glóbulos rojos, blancos y demás componentes de la sangre, siendo en esto el mas peligroso las plaquetas, debido a que en niveles tan bajos (28 mil) se corre el riesgo de sufrir sangrados internos.

Entonces para el 8 de noviembre de 2021 me internaron en el hospital, para hacerme exámenes y poder determinar que pasaba con mi cuerpo. Mientras tanto probaban con medicamentos para ver cual podía ayudar a mejorar la condición y que mis plaquetas dejaran de bajar y empezaran a subir el nivel. Para enero (tres meses después de estar en el hospital) me diagnosticaron con una enfermedad autoinmune llamada Púrpura Trombocitopénica Idiopática (PTI) para lo cual comenzaron a medicarme con corticoides, esteroides e inmunoglobulinas en altas dosis como prednisolona y dexametasona diarias por los 8 meses que estuve hospitalizado, más tratamiento con Rituximab por un mes, lo cuales por las altas dosis utilizadas, parecen ser los responsables de crearme un problema en la vista que me afecta con la claridad de la luz del día, luces de los carros o luces blancas (hiper-fotosensibilidad), lo que me diagnosticaron como cataratas entre la retina y la córnea, para lo cual debo realizarme cirugía en ambos ojos, para que me coloquen unos lentes intraoculares multifocales antes que el problema visual empeore; para así poder recuperar mi estilo vida a como era antes y poder disfrutar de la naturaleza que es lo que tanto me gusta y con lo que me identifico.