Rockets Fan & Clutchfan Member Battling Progressive Eye Disease

I know this is the wrong place to post & I might get priveledges taken away, but this is the only way for more people to know. I apologize in advance. Vance happens to be an associate of mine. If there's anyone out there that has it in their heart to help him out by clicking the link below and donating whatever you can, it would be so appreciated. In just a year, his vision has gone from 20/20 to 20/400 in both of his eyes. Any morning now he can wake up and not have vision at all. Along with the vision loss, he suffers with constant pain, irritation and light sensitivity. Any type of light hurts his eyes without dark sunglasses (After clicking the link, you'll see his has his glasses on his forehead). Thank you in advance for reading this!

http://www.giveforward.com/keratoconushelp


Young Single Father Battling Severe Progressive Eye Disease


"My name is Vance. I'm a 28 year old single Father who, as of last year, developed a progressive eye disease called "Keratoconus." My vision has gone from 20/20 to 20/400 in both of my eyes, causing me to be beyond legally blind. There's so much that has changed in my life, but the main thing that hurts me the most is that I'm no longer able to even recognize my son when he's standing right in front of me. I've been having to depend on others to be able to take him places so he can enjoy his childhood etc. I can't remember the last time I was able to read him a bedtime story. This hurts me worse than the pain & irritation I experience daily with Keratoconus. I took a leap of faith and enrolled in school in January to better the lives of myself and my son. I completed two semesters legally blind with A's and B's. But as of July, I had to take a leave of absence because of issues with my eyes. I really need someones help. My parents, two sisters and I had a family business that was open for 27 years. Due to the economy, just recently had to close its doors, so my entire family is unemployed. They are unable to help me get the surgery I need so I can see. One surgery is a Holcomb C3R treatment that would stop the progression of the disease. The other surgery is an Intact surgery. An Intact is a material inserted inside of my eye that will correct my vision. These are the only two surgeries that help patients with Keratoconus. I don't know what else to do. I would be so appreciative if someone out there could help me. Thank you for taking the time to read this."

 

Just bumping this thread, you've already done a lot. Thank you so much.

 

I'll definitely look into that for him. Thank you so much

 

That is amazing. Thank you so much napalm. He hasn't been able to post anything because of light hurting his eyes, but as soon as he's able he's going to personally thank you, and everyone else that has donated and given any type of information or support. Thank you again!

 

I'm so glad your vision was able to be corrected that much. Thank you so much for your help.

 

Its amazing that you mentioned this because I found this yesterday on Clinicaltrials.gov. I called Leticia, who's handling the trials and she said after the consultation its still $2500 per eye. That was strange to me being that the entire study is being sponsored by Acos. I contacted a representative from Acos via email asking what exactly is being sponsored since they're charging so much, but I didn't get a response. I'm going to call them today. Thank you for your help

 

You're not being rude at all, that's a great question. Since the family business has closed down (and previously already accepting less money for a couple years to try to keep it open) Vance (also because of his condition) & his son have already moved back in w/ his parents.. His sisters & their children are in the process of moving back in with their parents as well. He's been trying to raise money, not only for his condition, but for the family in general for a while now. He started this thread a while back: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=213874.

They have a tv, hp all in one computer and other items listed on Cragslist. His truck is hardly worth anything, so it isn't really worth trying to sell. An authentic red & mustard Rockets jersey signed by Hakeem Olajuwon along w/ the Calvin Murphy framed hall of fame jersey given by Calvin himself, an old violin etc. that they've been trying to sell. What's so amazing about him... If you see, or talk to him in person, you'd never think anything was wrong. When I was behind on my mortgage 6 months ago, he gave me what I didn't even realize at the time was his last to help me. All the while he was losing his vision as well.

 

I'm glad you did. Thank you so much. I'm going to get on that right away.

 

Thank you so much Jay