[nfb-talk] Utah Woman is 'Blind No More'

[Aaron Cannon]

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Oh boy... here we go.  Another helpless soul has managed to throw off the
shackles of darkness and doom.  (In case you missed it, press insert control
shift s to put Jaws into sarcasm mode, and reread the previous sentence.)


http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=888609

Utah Woman is 'Blind No More'
February 12th, 2007 @ 10:00pm

Ed Yeates Reporting

A 35-year-old woman who was born blind can see tonight, thanks to a
remarkable surgery performed in Utah.

Though Kristen O'Neil had been told it couldn't be done, she now is blind no
more. Ed Yeates shows us more in tonight's special report.

Kristen O'Neil's blindness would have looked something like this: Even in
full light, a person in front of her would appear as a moving sheet of
nothing.


Ophthalmologist Dr. Alan Crandall describes it this way:

Alan Crandall, M.D., Ophthalmologist: "Just one sheet. No distinguishing
factors. [She] couldn't tell where your coat ended, your tie started, none
of it.
It would all be gone."

But at the State Health Department cafeteria where she works with her
husband, who is also blind, Kristen now moves about. She is no longer blind!

"I was told by doctors all my life that they couldn't fix it."

Fix what? Kristen was born with extremely small eyes. A section of her iris
was missing, and what was there was dislocated, so light couldn't go through
the center of her pupil.

Part of her retina was missing, from the front all the way to back of the
eye. The eye lens was dislocated. She was also born with cataracts,
complicated
by the size of her eyes. By the time she was 14, they resembled those of an
80-year-old.

Though impossible 10 years ago, Kristen's eyes now have literally been
rebuilt!

"I was able to see the mountains for the first time. See across a field, and
see buildings across there. That was really cool."

Kristen O'Neil: "Being able to interact with people and be able to look at
them face-to-face and eye-to-eye and have a conversation with them is really
great."

At the Eye Institute of Utah, Dr. Alan Crandall removed the cataracts. Then
he began reshaping things. He made Kristen a new iris by implanting an
artificial
plastic iris right into her eye sac. Specially designed lenses were also
implanted to make up for the abnormally small eye. Both of Kristen's eyes
were
rebuilt.

Dr. Crandall: "She should not lose what she has now. She should just
continue to improve over time."

At home Kristen reads comfortably to her kids, a simple pleasure she savors
now. And for her son...

"Being able to read his music and teach him how to read music was probably
the best, and interacting with the kids."

Jim O'Neil, Kristen's Husband: "I'm just glad Dr. Crandall could help at
least one of us. I was a little bit worried at first because I've been
through
a lot of eye surgeries and none have worked out for me."

But Jim O'Neil says the surgical magic came through for his wife, with
colors, hues, and detail.

"Being able to ride my bike, take my kids for rides and stuff with me."

Dr. Crandall: "The fact that she can ride a bike is pretty amazing. To me,
that's amazing."

Kristen's vision is not perfect, but it's good. Blind she is no more. With
her delightful sense of humor she says, "It was really, I guess you would
say,
eye opening."

The Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired paid for
Kristen's remarkable surgery through its rehab program.

For more information, read Lois Collins' story in tomorrow's Deseret Morning
News and check the link above.



Aaron


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Skype: cannona
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