Patient Stories

Thank you to Scott K. who submitted his family's story on our website. under the Share Your Story link at the bottom of our Patient Success Stories page.  Patient stories are incredibly important in helping others better understand the need for and the process and benefit of PROSE treatment. "During the summer of 1997, our daughter, age 8, had an allergic reaction to bactrim, for which she was on day 9 of a 10-day regiment. We took her to a children's hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was diagnosed with Stevens Johnsons Syndrome. It was 10 days of hell for her, my wife, and me. The most severe effects of SJS were with her eyes. Light hypersensitivity, constant pain, and constant corneal ulcers all contributed to her anxiety (and ours). For 18 years, our daughter dealt with the above. At age 26, our daughter's eye doctor informed us about the PROSE treatment. We took her to Boston during Thanksgiving week of 2015. The staff were so supportive. The men, women, and children who we met who were being treated all had life-changing stories to tell about their journey to be at Boston. It was truly a miracle! The very first day, after being fitted with PROSE devices, my daughter was able to go outside, in the daylight, not having to wear two pairs of sunglasses! From that first day, her's and our lives changed for the better. She had endured 18 years of misery because of her eyes, and just [...]

“The enemy of perfection is good.”  Nate Jessiman told me about this quote from Voltaire, which an eyecare practitioner had told him during a visit. “This quote is terrible,” Nate said. “It’s a crutch for not trying to do more. I want to continue to see advances.  Good is not good enough.” Nate was diagnosed with keratoconus in his late teens. Now, 25 years later, he has his first pair of PROSE devices with SmartSight HOA® correction and can see well –not perfect – but well.   Getting a keratoconus diagnosis  More than 20 years ago, keratoconus wasn’t as well known. When he was first evaluated by an optometrist in his teens, the provider thought Nate was on drugs, because that seemed to be the most likely cause of ghosting, blurriness, and double vision, also known as higher-order aberrations (HOAs). Nate’s keratoconic corneas don’t have prominent bulging, but the condition is advanced enough to cause significant HOAs in his vision.  The aberrations impacted his ability to recognize faces from a minor distance. “I knew there was something wrong with my eyes. So, I went to Ocala (Florida) about 2 hours from where I lived, and spoke with a specialist.  That was when I finally got the keratoconus diagnosis.” Over the years, he saw multiple eye care practitioners. Scleral lenses really didn’t become commercially available until the last 15 years, so Nate and the eye care community were dealing with limited options.  When he finally was fit with scleral lenses, the [...]