Chapter Two of My Story
By Jean McClellan
As Paul Harvey might say, “And here’s the rest of the story.” For those of you who are too young to know who I’m referring to, suffice it to say there is one more chapter in my story about my vision disability that I did not include in my initial blog.
After my cataract surgeries in the l980s, when I was in my 30s, my eyes pretty much held their own. I did not have any major surgeries for many years.
I worked at numerous jobs as a social worker and counselor, as a manager of social workers in a couple of social service agencies, and lived comfortably with low vision. I used a white cane, I traveled by bus, and I used various low-vision adaptive tools such as a closed-circuit television magnifier, adaptive lighting, and large print.
When I lost my job in 2009 due to financial cutbacks (oh so common in the world of non-profit social services), I decided I had had enough and applied for Social Security Disability instead. My husband worked part-time because he was having increased physical disabilities, but we bumbled along.
But the complications from my cataract surgeries began to catch up with me. Around that time, it was discovered that the lens implant in my left eye was nowhere to be seen. It had become dislodged and my vision in that eye was nihil. Also, in my right eye, where there had been inflammation and infection, I developed chronic iritis (inflammation of the iris). No one exactly told me the cause, but the iritis blurred my vision, and I was now stuck for the rest of my life with steroid eye drops to keep the inflammation at bay. Worst of all, the pupil in my right eye was permanently stuck in scar tissue, so much so that doctors could not dilate it enough to see to the back of my eye, to examine my retina, or anything else.
In the last year or so, I began to notice a steady but subtle loss of vision. I figured it was normal loss due to my age and my chronic eye problems. But in the fall of 2022, I had dramatic and sudden vision loss that really alarmed me. On a Saturday night, I called a friend who took me to the Corewell Emergency Room (ER).
That’s when the miracles began.
I met with a delightful intern from Associated Retinal Consultants (ARC) who was working the ER that night. When I told her my history, she seemed somewhat awed and dubious. Of course, once again for the umpteenth time, my constricted pupil prevented a proper examination. She consulted with another doctor, Dr. Taquuir from ARC, who came over to see me. After more examination and discussion, she asked me to come into their offices that week for further evaluation from one of their specialists.
That following Tuesday, off I went. I met with Dr. Capone, who all of you know is the PRRF Board President and the Chief Clinical Partner of Eye Care Partners – the parent company of Associated Retinal Consultants. After another consultation and more tests, Dr. Capone said he wanted to do surgery to open the pupil and see what was going on. It was scheduled for a couple of weeks out.
My vision continued to deteriorate during the intervening weeks to the point where I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. And by now, my left eye vision was completely absent. My only good eye was in jeopardy!
Finally, surgery day arrived. The operation was only a couple of hours and after coming out of anesthesia and resting for a while, I was good to go. I had a patch over my eye and was told to come back to the office in the morning for a follow-up.
That night I had a lot of pain, more than I expected and more than Dr. Capone expected. When I went in the next morning, my eye pressure was in the 40s, when the normal range is around 10. I had Excessive fluid surrounding my eye, thus the pain. Dr. Taquir put a needle in my eye to withdraw the fluid and the pain gradually subsided.
Dr. Capone removed the patch. To my amazement, my vision was coming back really strong. In fact, beyond my wildest dreams, within two days my vision was restored to a level I had not enjoyed for over 30 years, since my cataract surgery. Grateful does not come close to describing how I felt. It was a miracle.
What did this heroic surgeon do?! He cut open my pupil, making four slits so that now it is somewhat rectangular in shape. Behind it, he removed the scar tissue that it was stuck in. Around the lens implant, he removed additional scar tissue. He also discovered that my original biological lens had not been completely removed in the original surgery. He cleaned up that debris, which he explained, was causing my chronic iritis. Now that problem was solved.
Additionally, and to me most remarkably in my vitreous humor, there was abnormal fibrous tissue that had been there since my birth. The original name for my eye disease was Retrolental Fibroplasia, later re-named Retinopathy of Prematurity. Note the word ‘fibro’ in that word. That means fiber or fibrous.
Within two days of the surgery, I was seeing better than I had seen in over 30 years. I could see pictures hanging on my walls that I could not see before. I could see figurines in my curio cabinets I could not see before. I could see my 50-inch TV more clearly. I had distance vision I never thought I would ever regain.
And that is what lead me to get involved with PRRF. I was filled with such gratitude, I asked Dr. Capone how I could give back. He said, “We have this Foundation…”
The moral of the story? There are advances in medicine and marvelous doctors and surgeons dedicated to eradicating not only pediatric retinal diseases but diseases of every kind. Never give up. Don’t accept problems or setbacks and think there is no hope. As I concluded in my first blog, technology is progressing every second, and so is medicine and the skills and knowledge of doctors administering it. Dr. Capone would be the first to say he is not alone. We are blessed to have many talented and dedicated doctors in this country.
Remember, even if there aren’t answers now, there’s no telling what the future holds.
About the author:
Jeanne McClellan was born and raised in Royal Oak Michigan, got a master's degree in psychology, and worked for approximately 30 years as a counselor and social worker until she retired in 2009.