Trace's Campaign for Clear Vision
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Hi! My name is Trace Malinowski and I'm a scuba instructor and lifeguard. Just as diving is more fun in clear water, life is more fun with clear vision. Friends and strangers would you please help me fund a rarely performed, but highly successful surgery called a Floater Only Vitrectomy (FOV) to remove eye floaters?
My story: In my teenage years, I remember going to an air show and seeing my first "floaters" in the blue sky. I noticed tiny black dots or rings that looked like cells in biology class. I thought it was really cool that I could see the inside of my eye like that. Little did I know that those little dots would become stringy and larger as I aged. They became annoying in snow, at the beach, or at sea. I coped by wearing sunglasses and tuning them out. I learned from my eye doctor that most people will develop floaters and I wasn't alone. So be it. I dealt with them and enjoyed the outdoors.
A few years ago, my floaters went from annoying to soul-crushing. A large black floater appeared in my central vision. It was like trying to look past a thumb held inches from your face. I knew this wasn't a normal floater and that a doctor would surely help me. Wrong! I was told that the vitreous degenerates as we age and that it was to be expected. People have learned to deal with large, even blinding floaters. What? How can you enjoy life like that? I knew I couldn't. I found help and support online where I learned about floater only vitrectomy surgery. But, only a few doctors in the whole world are willing to help patients with these life-stealing opacities.
I visited one of the world's best eye surgeons in NYC who was more than willing to help me. He operated on my left eye first and my right eye a year later. The results were amazing! I could enjoy the outdoors and life again like I hadn't since I was a child. Not only did he remove the problem floaters, but there was not a single dot left in my vision. To be able to live life without sunglasses and without annoying dots, specks, and such things darting in and out of my vision was such a blessing! Not a day had gone by that I didn't thank God for my doctor and the ability to enjoy a crystal clear world. Vitrectomy surgery is thought to speed the development of cataracts. Last year, I had cataract surgery which resulted in 20/20 vision (left eye) and 20/15 vision (right eye). This was also amazing because I no longer needed the glasses or contacts I had worn since age 17. I loved looking at the beauty of the world more than ever!
However, now I need your help. In younger patients who have FOV surgery, some vitreous is often not removed because it is solidly adhered to the retina. The few doctors that do the surgery are divided on the risk vs. reward of trying to pull this remaining vitreous off the delicate retina. One school of thought is to leave it in place and hope that it never detaches or if it does detach it will pose no trouble to the patient. Also, if it does detach and bothers the patient then it can simply be removed by an additional lower risk surgery. Another school of thought is to try to induce it to detach so the patient never requires another vitrectomy, but this increases the risk of tearing the retina. My surgeon believed the former method was initially safer and left vitreous in place. This vitreous has now detached on its own in my left eye leaving me with a giant cobweb-like floater blocking much of my vision.
I e-mailed the surgeon who did my original FOV surgery and he is willing to get this nasty thing out of my eye. My original surgery cost was $8200 per eye out of pocket, not including medicine, travel costs, and hotel stays. I need to visit him for an intial consultation in NYC, return for the surgery and stay in NYC for the night to be examined 1 day post-op, and return a week later. Because he is out of network my deductible on my insurance is $5000 + 30% above that.
I don't like asking for money. But, I'm also at a low point in my career financially. This means so much to me that I'm humbled to ask for help from others. I hope that my second eye waits for me to afford it myself if it has a vitreous detachment. You know how sometimes when you are really hurting you no longer feel like a grown up and you need a shoulder to lean on? I feel like that now. Please help me see clearly again. I'm hoping to have surgery by Christmas so that I could enjoy the magic of the holiday season more deeply and appreciatively than ever. Thank you.
My story: In my teenage years, I remember going to an air show and seeing my first "floaters" in the blue sky. I noticed tiny black dots or rings that looked like cells in biology class. I thought it was really cool that I could see the inside of my eye like that. Little did I know that those little dots would become stringy and larger as I aged. They became annoying in snow, at the beach, or at sea. I coped by wearing sunglasses and tuning them out. I learned from my eye doctor that most people will develop floaters and I wasn't alone. So be it. I dealt with them and enjoyed the outdoors.
A few years ago, my floaters went from annoying to soul-crushing. A large black floater appeared in my central vision. It was like trying to look past a thumb held inches from your face. I knew this wasn't a normal floater and that a doctor would surely help me. Wrong! I was told that the vitreous degenerates as we age and that it was to be expected. People have learned to deal with large, even blinding floaters. What? How can you enjoy life like that? I knew I couldn't. I found help and support online where I learned about floater only vitrectomy surgery. But, only a few doctors in the whole world are willing to help patients with these life-stealing opacities.
I visited one of the world's best eye surgeons in NYC who was more than willing to help me. He operated on my left eye first and my right eye a year later. The results were amazing! I could enjoy the outdoors and life again like I hadn't since I was a child. Not only did he remove the problem floaters, but there was not a single dot left in my vision. To be able to live life without sunglasses and without annoying dots, specks, and such things darting in and out of my vision was such a blessing! Not a day had gone by that I didn't thank God for my doctor and the ability to enjoy a crystal clear world. Vitrectomy surgery is thought to speed the development of cataracts. Last year, I had cataract surgery which resulted in 20/20 vision (left eye) and 20/15 vision (right eye). This was also amazing because I no longer needed the glasses or contacts I had worn since age 17. I loved looking at the beauty of the world more than ever!
However, now I need your help. In younger patients who have FOV surgery, some vitreous is often not removed because it is solidly adhered to the retina. The few doctors that do the surgery are divided on the risk vs. reward of trying to pull this remaining vitreous off the delicate retina. One school of thought is to leave it in place and hope that it never detaches or if it does detach it will pose no trouble to the patient. Also, if it does detach and bothers the patient then it can simply be removed by an additional lower risk surgery. Another school of thought is to try to induce it to detach so the patient never requires another vitrectomy, but this increases the risk of tearing the retina. My surgeon believed the former method was initially safer and left vitreous in place. This vitreous has now detached on its own in my left eye leaving me with a giant cobweb-like floater blocking much of my vision.
I e-mailed the surgeon who did my original FOV surgery and he is willing to get this nasty thing out of my eye. My original surgery cost was $8200 per eye out of pocket, not including medicine, travel costs, and hotel stays. I need to visit him for an intial consultation in NYC, return for the surgery and stay in NYC for the night to be examined 1 day post-op, and return a week later. Because he is out of network my deductible on my insurance is $5000 + 30% above that.
I don't like asking for money. But, I'm also at a low point in my career financially. This means so much to me that I'm humbled to ask for help from others. I hope that my second eye waits for me to afford it myself if it has a vitreous detachment. You know how sometimes when you are really hurting you no longer feel like a grown up and you need a shoulder to lean on? I feel like that now. Please help me see clearly again. I'm hoping to have surgery by Christmas so that I could enjoy the magic of the holiday season more deeply and appreciatively than ever. Thank you.
Organizer
Trace Malinowski
Organizer
Gouldsboro, PA
