Joe started a brand new job (whooo hoooo thank you Lord!) on Monday. Joe has worked in the mortgage business for the past 8 years and while it was a great thing for the first few years of our marriage, we always knew eventually he would have to find something different. Being a loan processor is pretty stagnant, there is no way to advance or further your career unless you have interest in other things like becoming a loan officer or underwriter, which Joe never was into. So he made a goal to have a new job by the time he was 30. He started his new job on Sept 27th and turned 30 on Sept 28th!
He is working at APL (Applied Physics Lab) in Columbia, MD. Thanks to a few good friends (Jason and Amanda), Joe was able to get an interview in July and after a few weeks of anxious anticipation, he got the offer! This is a huge blessing for Joe and for our future and we are so thankful that he has this opportunity. He is working in the Facilities and Logistics department and has a vast range of responsibilities that hopefully will make each day different and interesting. He wore a hard hat on Tuesday, a lab coat on Wednesday, saw an Atomic clock on Thursday, and secretly professed to me when he got home that he had no idea what an Atomic clock was until someone explained it to him. But we all had to learn on the job somewhat right??!
So the bad corneas is also news about Joe. At the end of July, Joe went to his regular eye appointment for a new prescription and was informed that he most likely has Keratonocus. Keratonocus is a thinning disorder of the cornea which causes the cornea to take on a cone like shape instead a normal round eyeball shape. So it causes pretty significant visual impairment. Joe has a hard time driving at night and has been dealing with pain and redness for months now.
We went to see a Keratonocus specialist in Chevy Chase at the beginning of September. There are only 8 facilities in the country that deal with this disorder. Joe went through a round of tests to see how advanced his case is. So here is the low down...
There are 2 ways to treat it.
1. Cornea Cross Linking. This is a relatively non invasive outpatient procedure that would strengthen the cornea and prevent further damage.
PRO: Joe would still need glasses but 60-80 % of patients report an increase in vision following the procedure that takes anywhere from months to years to see the full effects. One day he might even be able to have Lasix and have 20/20 vision and never have to wear glasses again.
CON:This procedure is still in Clinical Trials so it is not covered by insurance. It costs $6,000 and that is with a $2,000 discount cause we are young and the Doctor felt bad for us!
2. Corneal Transplant Surgery. This is where Joe's corneas are removed and replaced with donor corneas. This is horribly painful, takes months to recover from and is something we don't want to even have to think about. But it is currently the only procedure approved by the FDA and covered by insurance.
PRO: No more Keratoconus and better vision
CON: Infection, rejection of donor cornea, pain
SO! Our hope is to have Cornea Cross Linking(CXL) in early 2011. The thinning of the cornea is measured and scored and right now Joe is at 485 in one eye and 430ish in the other eye. As the cornea thins more and more, the score goes down. You have to have at least a score of 300 or higher to be able to have CXL. So we are going back in the end of October to have his score redone to see how fast the Keratonocus is progressing to determine how much time we have.
So we will update you on what we learn later this month! The good news is that Keratoconus does not cause blindness. But Joe's current prescription makes him barely legal to drive and he already can't drive at night. The bad news is that it's genetic. So now I am going to have babies with bad corneas!:) It's ok though, maybe by then CXL will be FDA approved, otherwise we better start saving!
Look, look with your special eyes!
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