Hello,
My name is Sara Behmer-Pinheiro, and my nephew has an eye condition called Keratoconus. Keratoconus is a progressive disease that can cause vision loss. With Keratoconus over time vision loss can get worse. He has been dealing with it since he was 10 years old. It has hindered him from living up to my full potential. His prognosis was so bad he was unable to even wear glasses. Even with the contact in his left eye he is seriously handicapped 320/30 with ghost vision and legally blind in that eye. This made playing sports or even driving difficult. He must wear a hard Lense in his left eye and a soft Lense in his right eye. The contacts scratch his eyes, and he has scarring/scar tissue built up that is a problem now as well, because it makes it harder for the contact to sit on his eye. The contacts he wears also build up bacteria so you’re more prone to infections and loss of eyesight. He was told by his eye doctor he had to wait till he was 25 to get this surgery.
He finally found a surgeon in California who invented the Holcomb C3-R® epi-on cross-linking procedure. It is a non-invasive procedure that is highly effective at slowing and in many cases stopping the progression of Keratoconus. The bad news is they do not take insurance. The procedure itself and everything associated with it will roughly be $20,000. He has to drive out to California for a couple days and stay at a hotel to have the procedure done. He is 25 years old and plans to take out loans to try and pay for the surgery that he so desperately needs. Nobody likes to ask for help, but I know he needs it. If he doesn’t get this done, his eyes will continue to get worse, and he could possibly go blind. Please consider donating to help him cover the costs.
The breakdown of fees:
Exam $410
Holcomb C3-R $4,800/ Per eye ß Please have this treatment as soon as possible to prevent further loss of vision.
INTACS $6,000 Left eye ß This treatment will help IMPROVE eyesight. Better clarity of vision, better comfort/fit in contact lenses.
CK "Conductive Keratoplasty" $4,800 Left eye ß This procedure will help reduce astigmatism and improve an extra boost of vision.
