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Review written by Steve Lutke:
I hate infomercials. I fast-forward every commercial on my DVR. This is not one.
In the summer of 2010, I nearly lost my eye. I sat home from the Fourth of July fireworks show with a patch over my left eye. I had gotten an infection in my left eye which my ophthalmologist explained could potentially blind my eye forever. He worked very hard to get the infection under control but the infection led to a corneal ulcer which led to a scar being formed directly in the center of my field of vision. It was sort of like wearing glasses with a big smudge of melted butter across the left lens: I couldn’t see around it, only blurry forms through it.
There was a chance that the scar would eventually go away or I could choose to go to Salt Lake City or Denver or Seattle to explore the possibility of a corneal transplant. I chose to wait and hope the scar would eventually go away. It did not.
For nearly 3 years I lived with my reduced vision. I squinted a lot. I became very dependent on my right eye and gave up many things that I had loved to do. When it became obvious that things would not improve, my wife and I began to talk again about the option of a corneal transplant.
My wife had been seeing Dr. Currence for her eye care needs for several years and encouraged me to make an appointment to see him: perhaps he had some suggestions on where to start in search for a physician who could help me. My last visit to an eye care professional was when I had gotten the discouraging news about my condition and I was less than excited about going again.
When I met with Dr. Currence, I explained my history and he began to do the traditional contact exam I had been through many times before. The prescription for my right eye could be improved somewhat but that left one? No setting on his fancy machine seemed to help. I could read the “E” on the top but I was lost after that. Toward the end of the exam, both of us clearly frustrated and I resigned to the fact that my next appointment would be in a large office in a large city far away, Dr. Currence said he would like to try one more thing.
He had been working with a new company that was making contact lenses for people with specific eye conditions. They weren’t made specifically for people with my condition but there was a possibility it might help me. When he came back into the exam room with a new set of contacts, I put the left one in and looked again at the eye chart… where was the melted butter? For the first time in a long time I could read the chart! With the help of this new contact, my vision improved from 20/500 to 20/50 without a transplant. Somehow, this lens helped me see around the scar.
Today, my vision is not perfect: but my quality of life is vastly improved and you are in a much safer place when your car passes mine on the street. Before my infection, I had been an amateur photographer. But when you can’t see, the things you see don’t look like anything you want to photograph. In the 3-year period between my infection and my new contact lenses I had taken less than 100 photos. Last WEEKEND, I took 1500! My excitement for my hobby is back.
Simply put: I see better today because WaveForm makes an innovative contact lens that helps my specific condition. Dr. Currence at Beartooth Vision Center showed enough interest in me to look beyond the price of an exam fee and was curious enough to think outside-the-box of the diagnosis I was given. He was willing to try something that probably wouldn’t work- but it did work! I’m very thankful to Dr. Currence, his staff and the people at WaveForm. I hope that my situation and the experience they gained from helping me might help others get back their zest for life.
Sincerely,
Steve Lutke
Park City, MT
https://www.facebook.com/SteveLutkePhotography/ (what I’m seeing today)
