A 900-mile plane ride to Iowa gets an Alabama girl the expert eye care she needed

Something more needed to be done.

That much was clear to Kristy Rodgers of Cullman, Alabama. Rodgers’ then 5-year-old daughter, Anna, had been diagnosed with moderate to advanced keratoconus, an irregular protrusion of the cornea, the clear surface over the colored part of the eye. For people with keratoconus, this irregularity is like looking through a bumpy piece of glass.

“We were told that cornea transplants were inevitable,” Rodgers says.

In June 2004, an appointment with a corneal specialist did not sit well with the family. “They still weren't able to give her adequate vision correction,” Rodgers says. “She was experiencing inward eye turns. We could only drive a few miles before she would become incredibly car-sick.”

The start of school showed just how bad Anna’s vision really was. She had trouble reading; her depth perception was poor. The family was frustrated.

“We knew something more had to be done,” Rodgers says. “After months of help from a good friend, countless e-mails to various doctors across the country, the pooling of resources, called-upon favors, and a whole lot of prayers, I reached a decision that many people thought was completely unnecessary.”

That decision involved a 900-mile plane ride to visit Christine W. Sindt, O.D., at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Sindt, a keratoconus specialist, directs the Contact Lens Clinic in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, which is consistently ranked among the nation’s best eye departments by U.S.News & World Report magazine.

Rodgers thought she was prepared for every possible scenario but soon realized how wrong she was. “There is only one time I can remember being more unprepared for a doctor's news ... and that was the first day I was told that Anna had keratoconus!”

The visit began with a series of tests and scans. Rodgers began to think her daughter’s condition was more serious than expected. She braced herself for the worst.

Instead, the news was good: if Anna had keratoconus—and that was a big “if”—it was very mild or subclinical. In all likelihood it was very high corneal astigmatism.

“I stood there in total shock!” Rodger says. “This was the one thing that I was not prepared to hear but I'm sure you can imagine how thrilled I was.”

During the visit, Anna was custom fitted with two different rigid, gas permeable (GP) lenses. GP lenses allow oxygen to pass through to the cornea and provide wearers with clearer, sharper vision. Unlike soft contact lenses, GP lenses have a low water content and, therefore, resist protein deposits and bacteria. Because they are rigid, they hold their shape when the wearer blinks, allowing for crisper vision.

“The lens maker was nothing short of a saint,” Rodgers says. “He worked late and then drove several hours to hand deliver them on two different days to make sure Anna had a perfect fit.”

Anna eventually learned to insert the lenses herself, after many failed attempts.

“The most wonderful thing is the way she says she sees with the lenses in place,” Rodgers says. “One morning she looked at me with a dazed look on her face. I asked her why she wasn't answering when I spoke to her. Her reply, ‘Mommy, things look so much prettier now. Even the colors of the cars look prettier.’ My heart nearly skipped a beat. She is reading 20/25 on the eye chart as well!”

To Anna’s mother, Iowa is the land of miracles. “Dr. Sindt and her staff went above and beyond. I don't think that I will ever be able to thank them enough.”

For more information, patients and families should call UI Health Access and ask for the Contact Lense Clinic, or visit www.uihealthcare.com/eyecare. For consultation or referral, physicians should call UI Consult.