TLDR: Chris is going to need to get 2 procedures done on his eyes, one to fix a hole and another to prevent one. Help him to focus on his recovery and not financial needs until he can get back on his feet and behind the camera

On Sunday, July 30th, 2023 Christian started seeing an abnormal number of floaters and flashing lights in the peripheral vision of his right eye. Monday morning when it hadn’t resolved but rather worsened, Chris called his Ophthalmologist’s office to attempt to make an Emergency Eye appointment. Unfortunately, they were unable to make him an emergency eye visit because his doctor has moved practices, but they did set up an appointment for a regular eye exam scheduled for August 8th, 2023. These symptoms he was experiencing can be signs of various severe conditions such as glaucoma, cataracts, and a retinal detachment, so rather than waiting 10 days for an appointment he started researching the best emergency eye services near him.

On Tuesday, he started the journey from Chicago to Milwaukee to surprise his daughter, Aubree, by going to her first Paramore show. During the drive, the unthinkable happened, and Christian’s retina fully detached causing him to instantaneously lose a majority of the vision in his right eye. At this time the Illinois Eye Institute which he was planning on calling to set up an appointment or simply going into their urgent care was already closed, so he tried not to think about his eye and instead enjoyed the most magical Paramore concert with two of his favorite people in this world, Aubree and Taylor, his sister. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting Chris you learn very quickly that his love for his kids outweighs everything else. So, he made a sacrifice that ended up turning into a once-in-a-lifetime moment for him and his daughter. He made sure that his little girl would be celebrated.

On Thursday, Chris went to the Urgent Care at Illinois Eye Institute where they did a multitude of tests and found two critical findings. Firstly, his right eye had a Macular-off (full) retinal detachment caused by a retinal tear. This was a Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, the most common type, caused by the weakening of the tissues that connect the retina to the back of the eye due to natural causes like aging and myopia. Secondly, his left eye‘s retinal wall is thinning in the same spot as the hole in his right eye. This is concerning to the Doctors because it means Chris’s left eye is also on its way to retinal detachment via a retinal hole and similar to the right eye will need surgery. They discharged him after communicating with UIC’s Urgent Care where a surgeon could see him at 8 am the following morning.

Friday, after 2 residents, an attending and the head of the ophthalmology department examined his eye the diagnosis given by the Illinois Eye Institute was confirmed and they proceeded with a Pneumatic retinopexy to attempt to reattach his retina before needing and attempting a more strenuous surgery. His follow-up will determine whether his vision has returned and his retina is reattached or if he will need more intensive surgery. Six days post-op and as of yet, the vision has not returned.

His surgeon proposed a timeline for treatment to make sure we save his eyes: if the surgeon isn’t satisfied with vision improvements and the retina’s healing progress at the follow-up on Friday, August 11 he will go directly into surgery. This surgery will have a minimum 3–4-week recovery. Once that surgery is healed enough to keep the eye open for longer periods with no strain and vision has returned at least 80% they will proceed with the surgery on the Left eye before it detaches. This surgery will also require a minimum of 3 weeks of recovery before he can begin to rehabilitate the eye's ability to be used, make quick movements, sleep not in a recliner, etc., and be cleared to return to ‘light duty’ as far as photography goes.

Chris has already postponed or canceled 3 weeks’ worth of work to adhere to the doctor’s post-op recovery instructions for the pneumatic retinopexy. He is looking at another 1.5-3 months where he will be unable to work. Let me be so clear here, Christian cannot and should not ignore the urgency of receiving treatment because if not treated ASAP it will result in blindness of varying capacities.

To cover his rent, and utilities, and get Aubree and Hayden back to school supplies he needs a minimum of $6000. This doesn’t include any medical bills; it will simply keep him fed and housed until he can resume light duty and start working again. As of right now, we have no idea the exact cost of these setbacks this is simply a starting point. We want to make sure Chris only has to worry about his recovery instead of rushing back to work and damaging his vision further due to financial strain.

Anybody who knows Chris knows how passionate he is about photography and potentially many of you reading this have utilized his services before. So, we’re coming to you (despite Chris’s reluctance) to help him through this journey and on the road to recovery so he can be back out there wowing the masses with his art and being his kids’ biggest hero.