Stories
Cindy: A Corneal Graft is a 'Gift That Restores the Soul'
Right after graduating from college, Cindy learned she had keratoconus, a condition that causes the corneas to steepen like the ends of a football. For years she could wear special contact lenses, achieving vision good enough to enjoy a career as a magazine writer, editor, and publisher. But in 2002, the cornea in her left eye worsened severely and she found it challenging to read, use a computer, and drive.
Since a corneal transplant in 2003, however, she sees 20/20 with contact lenses. "I hadn't seen that clearly for a quarter-century," she says. "Even though I'm a writer, I couldn't explain to my husband how different the world looked. He said, 'It sounds like you're seeing the world in 3-D.' I had forgotten the term."
Cindy has rediscovered her creative side as well, writing fiction for both adults and children and selling oil paintings of the northern lights. And, with her depth perception restored, she once again pursues her passions for sailing and camping, and she has even fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming scuba certified.
Cindy volunteers in numerous capacities for the Minnesota Lions Eye Bank as a way of expressing her appreciation for the gift of sight. "But most of all, I honor the individual who most made possible this gift, the donor," she says. "I've found myself considering the saying, 'The eyes are the windows to the soul,' and I keep imagining the kind soul who restored my eyesight-and, no less so, my spirit. Corneal graft recipients know that a graft is a gift beyond vision. It is a gift that restores the soul."
Cindy volunteers in numerous capacities for the Minnesota Lions Eye Bank