Professional

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
KC Doesn't Stop Doug
by Sheila Hutman
Reverend Doug Beasley started having trouble with his vision
when he was five years old. In 1968, when he was in the 8th grade, he was diagnosed with keratoconus. He wore contact lenses for several years and was
able to attain 20/20 vision. But as the experts predicted, his keratoconus
progressed. In 1980, due to a hydrops condition, he had no vision in his
right eye. The inside layer of his right cornea had split, causing swelling
and opacity in this cornea. As a result, he could no longer wear his
contact lens. His doctor placed him on the waiting list for a donated
cornea. In six weeks, a donor was found, and a transplant was performed
successfully. He stayed in the hospital two days, and his sutures were not
removed for a year. He was extremely light sensitive for a while, but
eventually that resolved. Although there were some difficulties, with a
fighting spirit, Doug dealt with them well.
When his sutures were removed one year after his first
corneal transplant "I could see the leaves on the trees," he said
excitedly. "I could distinguish people's faces. I could see their freckles.
I cried because I could see! Whoa! I was blind, but now I see!" That
biblical quote is his motto, and he proudly wears it emblazoned across his
tee shirt.
Keratoconus continued to advance in his left eye, and two
years later required transplant surgery. He waited six months for a donor
the second time. "My corneas are the healthiest part of my eyes," he
boasts. However, the steroid he was given post-surgically may have caused
premature cataracts.
The cataracts have been removed in the last three years. One
procedure was not successful. The new lens came out of its capsule, so the
implant had to be redone. Now, however, Doug has 20/40 vision with soft
contact lenses. The less than good news is that he has no binocular vision.
Since the cataract surgeries, his eye muscles are not aligned. Realignment
requires an injection of oculinum (or Botox, a highly purified, stable form
of botulinum toxin A that is used as an alternative to surgery to correct
eye muscle misalignment). He has had two injections, the latest one on June
18th. These are a nuisance, he says because he can't drive immediately after
a procedure, but continues to get them to keep his vision as good as it can
be to ensure his valued independence.
Doug thinks of himself as a normal person and has never been
depressed because of his vision difficulties. "Well, maybe the cataracts
got me down a little," he confessed. "My vision fluctuates, so I need a new
prescription every few months, and my insurance company won't cover it.
There are some difficulties, but I deal with them. When I have trouble
seeing, I move closer to the newspaper, chalkboard, or whatever. I live with
it. Keratoconus is inconvenient and entails a lot of waiting. You see a lot
of doctors, wait for your turn at a lot of clinics, wait for a cornea
donation, wait for the transplant to heal, but seeing the leaves on the
trees is worth the wait!"
Now 44, he has had corneal transplants and cataract surgery
in both eyes. Yet Doug is one of the most upbeat, positive people you'll
ever meet. "I'm doing great," he said. No matter what lay ahead of him in
his crusade to save his eyesight, he maintained his optimism. "I never
worried a bit. I stayed cool. I knew I'd be all right."

Despite his vision difficulties over the years, Doug
finished school, got a degree in music, did seminary work, married and is
now a music minister. He had to give up sports because he felt he couldn't
protect himself from a ball that might hit him in the face. But he refused
to feel sorry for himself and developed other interests.
When Dr. Joe Chaney, a member of Reverend Beasley's
Murfreesboro, Arkansas congregation asked for volunteers to accompany him on
a recent trip to see patients in Honduras Doug signed on immediately.
Because he is so grateful to the families who donated the corneas of their
loved ones to him, he was eager to help other people with vision problems.
"I went through a lot," Doug says. "Now I want to help others who are going
through the same thing." Having just received an oculinum injection, his
vision was 20/30 at the time of the trip. He experienced no visual
difficulties while traveling. "The scenery was so beautiful," he said.

The facilities in the Honduran clinic were limited. The
group took donated eyeglasses. Doug helped with the eye tests. He found it
humbling to help people who can't afford eye exams or spectacles. Dr.
Chaney, who has made a number of medical relief expeditions before, saw his
first Honduran case of keratoconus on this trip - in a 39-year-old woman.
The doctor felt badly because he couldn't do anything to help her. He had no
contact lenses, all he could offer her where a pair of glasses. Such an
experience left a major impact on Doug.
Upon his return home, Doug brought new enthusiasm to his
work with ARORA, the Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency. Each month,
he puts up an ARORA display in the local Department of Motor Vehicles office
and encourages people to sign the back of their driver's license, agreeing
to be an organ donor. "I am living proof that corneal donation works. A
friend of mine who had a heart transplant several years ago joins me. We
make a great team!"
Doug has also spoken about cornea donation at several Lions
Club meetings with the Red Cross Organ Transplant Committee. He will be
happy to answer your questions via email at: uca79@alltel.net.

Photo Caption:
Doug Beasley entertains a group of children waiting at the Eye Clinic in
Honduras.

Doug did the screening eye exams at the Honduras Eye Clinic

Dr. Joe Chaney working with limited equipment at the Honduras Eye Clinic.
(crop as needed)

**************************
Catherine Warren, RN
National Keratoconus Foundation
8631 West Third Street #520E
Los Angeles, CA 90048
nkcf@csmc.edu

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE 3-28-2001:

I had my 4th occulinum injection 4 months ago and my eyes are now
binocular. The viterous came loose in my right eye and I have trash and huge
floaters swirling around in the back of that eye, but I can live with that.
I now have 20/25 vision in both eyes with comfortable glasses and my transplants are healthy
and doing GREAT! I consider myself cured of KC!