An Eye For An Eye At 17 years old, I have a prosthetic eye. I have been blind in my right eye since birth, and the eye problems continued from there. But now I am pain-free. My journey is just beginning. When I was three days old and ready to leave the hospital, the doctor could not get a red reflex in my right eye. At five days old, my mom took me to an eye doctor, who sent us to Omaha, Nebraska the next day. The day after that, a scan was done on my eye in Sioux City, Iowa, which showed a cataract. At 13 days, I had my first surgery – a cataract surgery. Following the surgery, I was diagnosed with glaucoma. At four weeks, I received my first pair of glasses, paid for by the Lions Club in Yankton. The Year You Take Care Of YOU. 12vHERVOICEvJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 At two months, I had a trabeculectomy to control my eye pressure. Over the next six months, I had three valves implanted in my eye: one Krupin and two Ahmed. Years passed without eye issues until 2011, when I was 12 years old. One of the valves in my eye became encapsulated by a cyst. I had another procedure done to remove the cyst along with part of the valve. However, following surgery, the remaining part of the device was making contact with my cornea, causing corneal bullae to form. When these blister-like bullae burst, it exposed the nerve endings in my eye, causing intense pain. This formed corneal keratitis and degraded my cornea. In May 2012, I had a cornea transplant, but the cornea that I received had herpes simplex virus, causing more pain. In October 2015, one of the tubes infiltrated my eye. I had an emergency operation to remove the tube and implant a new one. This healed up perfectly, but the condition of my cornea continued to worsen. I was in such intense pain that I couldn’t attend school. When I went to bed at night, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do anything the next day or how much pain I would wake up with. I was in constant pain and all I could do was sleep. I couldn’t do my homework because I couldn’t be in the light and because the overwhelming pain prevented me from focusing. I missed more school because I had emergency eye doctor appointments in Omaha multiple times a month. My mom and I decided we needed another option. My cornea specialist referred me to an ophthalmologist, Dr. James W. Gigantelli, MD. Finally, I got the one thing that was on my Christmas list for years: an enucleation, or the removal of my blind eye. On September 28th, 2016, I had my right eye removed. Following the two-hour operation, I was recliner-ridden for more than a week. I was not allowed to bend over, lie in a horizontal position, get my face wet, or lift anything at all. It hurt to look around because the muscles were still sore. The bandage covered a third of my face and was not replaced until the post-op appointment on Oct. 3. Over time, the pain lessened and I no longer needed pain Allow your Yankton Hy-Vee Registered Dietitian Elizabeth Volzke help you make 2017 “The Year You Take Care of You.” Whether you want to take better control of your diabetes, lower your cholesterol, lose weight or simply eat healthier, Elizabeth can help you succeed! •Weight loss solutions •Kids and Teenage cooking classes •Health counseling/assistance with Diabetes, Hypertension, COPD, Pregnancy and more •Individual Medical Nutrition Therapy with physician referral (outpatient visits) •Personalized shopping tours to fit the needs of the individual •Assistance with food allergy and intolerance issues •Group nutrition classes in the store and community •Cooking classes in partnership with Chef Staci •Biometric health screenings Contact Elizabeth by calling the store at 605-665-3412 or emailing her at evolzke@hy-vee.com 2100 Broadway, Yankton