Wayne Lutz: Cornea recipient

Starry-eyed over his cornea transplant

Years ago I left my job as a college professor in California to concentrate on something I always wanted to pursue – writing. I moved to the state of Washington, and all went well until a few years ago. I gradually started to lose my eyesight. Writing posed demands on my vision, and editing my own material became a major struggle. In fact, my entire dream began to deteriorate. Soon, I was writing less and becoming increasingly frustrated.

I've spent a lifetime, since my teenage years, looking through telescopes. This avocation also nearly disappeared when my vision deteriorated.

Throughout the years I often hosted "star parties" for college students. It's always fun to introduce young people to the wonders of the night sky. Before focusing the telescope, I would review the overhead view with these students, pointing out the major constellations. What frustration when these young eyes could recognize so much more than I could see. Then, through the telescope's eyepiece, they would express their amazement at objects like the Ring Nebula. "It looks just like a smoke ring!" they'd say. But to me, the Ring Nebula was just a fuzzy blob.

One of my decision points prior to surgery involved my inability to read a newspaper, I struggled so much that I tended to read only the headlines. Even with a bright light, I couldn't make it through a full paragraph with any coherence.

Now, everything has changed! Within only a few days after my cornea transplant, my vision improved so much that it was better than before the surgery. Within two weeks, everything started to take on an almost-3D appearance, undoubtedly because my vision had been so bad for so long that I didn't remember the attributes of good vision. Words on the pages of a book became vivid and distinct. I could see the text on a computer screen crisply, making detailed business and personal tasks possible again. And newspapers? – No problem!

On my first night at my telescope's eyepiece after my eye surgery, I was shocked! I too could see that distinct smoke ring. The nebula seemed to pop out at me in distinct three dimensions. Imagine my first look through my small telescope after my eye surgery – objects I waited years to see distinctly were suddenly bright and prominent. What a joy to rediscover the night sky!

This experience has provided me with a great example of how a physical improvement can make major changes in a person's overall mental health and quality of life, which reminds me of the great flexibility of our bodies. For me, without donors, all of this would have been impossible. To offer the value of eyesight to another is one of the greatest gifts possible.

Wayne J. Lutz
Bellingham, WA