Reset Tom's 'Scope' for Sight

At a very young age our Dad, Tom Dougherty, was diagnosed with glaucoma. However, he now has cataracts in both eyes which has started a short countdown to losing his vision in whole. At 19, he had a goniotomy - a surgical procedure to reduce pressure - in each eye. While the surgery worked to reduce his pressure, his pupils were damaged and have been permanently dilated, a condition called Aniridia. This makes him extremely sensitive to light and sunglasses are no longer enough protection for his optic nerve. For most of our Dad's life he has had to constantly monitor his vision. All his adult life he has taken proactive measures to put off vision loss with regimens of medical treatments (eye drops, etc.) to try to keep his Glaucoma in check. He has extreme difficulty being able to see his daughters on the basketball court or softball field. For the many who know our family, these two sports are one of the strongest bonds that we share with our Dad. 

Upon the recommendation of our Dad's eye doctor, he went to see an eye specialist in New York City for a consultation regarding entering him into a clinical research study for Iris Implants. The Iris controls the amount of light entering the eye. Our family was optimistic to learn that he is a good candidate for the study. The specialist will plan to repair his cataracts, add stents for the Glaucoma and insert the Iris Implants in both eyes. While the cataracts and stents will be covered by insurance, the Iris devices and procedure will not be covered. The Iris devices and surgery to place them in the eye costs a conservative $30,000. This amount does not include the additional expenses of lodging and travel back-and-forth to NYC for multiple visits, therefore the extra money raised will go to those expenses.

As many of you know our Dad is the definition of a hardworking man who has always put his family first. To put it simply he is the definition of a "workaholic" and is always doing whatever it takes to provide for his family. If he is not working one of his many jobs you can find him at one of his daughters  sporting events or in the great outdoors; fishing, hunting or trapping. We have accepted the outdoors as his 6th daughter. Cheering his girls on and hunting have always been his passions, which now suffer due to not clearly seeing without the help of current corrective options that have all been exhausted and no longer provide efficient vision enhancement. 

Our Dad is selfless and a major role model in our daily lives and pushes us to do our absolute best. He is extremely charismatic and makes friends every where he goes, be it at the bar or train station, by the end everyone knows Tom. 

We were happy to learn his sight is repairable. Unfortunately, we cannot afford this type of expense and our Dad now believes that his destiny is darkness. Therefore, our family would like to ask his friends and family to take action. With this operation and implants, he will be able to continue the things he loves to do with better vision. Our Dad has sacrificed so much for the people he cares for, so please help aid him in his time of need. ANY donation would be greatly appreciated. Our father has always made sure to put a smile on our faces, now we ask you to help put a smile on his.

Thank you! - Deb, Christine, Shannon, Meghan, Erin, & Kamryn

“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks”-John Muir