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

Judy Ziegler’s eyes had endured a lot over the years. In 1995, the Myersville, Maryland woman experienced severe scarring in her eyes when she had an adverse reaction to medication resulted in toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN).

TEN is the most severe form of Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), a life-threatening hypersensitivity disorder that presents with a rash on the skin that then blisters over, causing the skin to fall off in sheets. SJS/TEN also affects the mucus membranes causing blisters in the mouth and on the eyes. The fatality rate of those with TEN approaches 40 percent.

Though she miraculously recovered, Judy was told that by doctors she would likely have lingering eye problems from the severe scaring. She learned to live with the minimal eye pain, but as each of her three children were born, her immune system seemed to go into overdrive, according to doctors, attacking the cells in her eyes and deteriorating her vision. According to her story in Frederick News Post, as the years progressed, Judy’s eyesight became worse and worse until she could no longer see the faces of her children.

Doctor’s treated Judy’s chronically dry, burning and painful eyes with steroids, but she was still unable to see very well and had become unable to tolerate light or wind. Judy sought the help of specialists, tried immunosuppressant drugs and even chemotherapy, but nothing seemed to help. Doctors advised she learn Braille and get a seeing eye dog, as it was likely her vision would only get worse.

And then Judy met with specialists at the Cincinnati Eye Institute and underwent a stem-cell transplant. It restored her vision only minimally, but doctors and Judy didn’t give up hope. Several surgeries to repair a ruptured cornea and remove cataracts finally resulted in restored vision in one eye. For the first time ever, she was able to see your youngest daughter’s face.

While more surgeries are anticipated on her other eye, and there are no guarantees her vision won’t deteriorate again, Judy says she is thankful for the vision she does have and vows to maintain a positive outlook on the future.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 30th, 2009 at 4:43 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.