Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

In 1996, Joe Zienowicz suffered from tennis elbow. An avid athlete, he sought help from his doctor, who prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug. The medication nearly killed him. He was struck by Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), an adverse reaction to common medication in which skin peels off in sheets. It also can affect mucus membranes, blistering the mouth and eyes. Joe’s corneas were severely damaged, and he was permanently blinded.

For a year Joe lived in the dark, lying in the dark of his home, unable to even see the face of his wife. That, he said, is what he most missed.

And then a miracle happened. Joe was told by his cornea specialist Dr. C. Stephen Foster a the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary about about the innovative work of Dr. Perry Rosenthal at the Boston Foundation of Sight. Dr. Rosenthal had developed a deep contact lens called a scleral lens that was literally enabling the blind to see again. The lens rests on the sturdy white of the eye, and creates a tear-filled pool over the cornea.

The scleral lenses changed Joe’s life. A couple weeks after going to the Boston Foundation for Sight, Joe was fitted for lenses and was able to see again.

Joe’s touching story is played out on a video by the Boston Foundation of Sight. “He put in the lenses and said, ‘Oh my God. I can see,’” said his wife. “It’s a miracle.”

Though Dr. Rosenthal’s lenses have changed lives, insurance companies still see them as a cosmetic device. The custom, handmade lenses cost around $5,500 per pair. Making them more readily available is a priority for the Boston Foundation of Sight and Dr. Rosenthal.

“Sight should not be a gift. It should be a birthright,” he says on the video.

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