Funds to help save Christopher's vision.

Hi, my name is Erlyn, and Christopher is my grandson. He was born prematurely at 23 weeks gestation and has retinopathy of prematurity. He underwent several laser treatments in the NICU and his vision was stable until he was 12 when he developed band keratopathy of his corneas requiring two surgeries. Then at age 21, he was diagnosed with glaucoma and has been on five different eye drops four times a day ever since. He was being followed by a glaucoma specialist, but his vision in his right eye had declined from 20/70 to 20/400.

On July 17th, his mom flew him to Miami (from Indiana) to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute for another opinion. After several tests, Christopher was found to have severe optic nerve damage to the right eye requiring emergent surgery. They diagnosed him with Pachyphakia Microcornea Angle Closure and he was operated on by a retina specialist and a glaucoma specialist. Unfortunately, they could not 100% finish surgically opening the angle because of too much bleeding.

At his follow-up appointment, the eye pressure was lower than it had ever been, but a few days later, Christopher developed a bad headache and was so weak he couldn’t walk. His pressure in the right eye was elevated and an ultrasound showed his eye was full of blood. They had to perform a vitreous tap to insert a large needle while he was awake to syringe out all of the blood. Three days later he was back in the ER with more pain and more blood was found in the eye requiring a second vitreous tap. This time they injected Avastin to stop the bleeding. The doctor said most adults refuse this procedure and commended Christopher for his bravery and pain tolerance.

During another trip to the ER for increased pain, they found a tear in his cornea and they had to put a biological amniotic bandage on his eye and put in a contact which hurt him so bad they had to change it three times. This is needed to prevent infection and promote healing of the cornea but is uncomfortable and painful because he still has stitches under the contact.

Christo has been through a lot and we are so proud of him - for his bravery and stamina. This will not be the last of his surgeries; they will also have to go into his other eye. They had only planned on being in Miami for a week but ended up having to stay for a month due to all of his complications. They have been able to cover their extensive lodging and car rental bills from their savings, but his medical bills are piling up from the high deductible and out-of-pocket expenses. Any help is appreciated.

Thank you!