Facebook friends will recognize this status, but it bears repeating here: Thank you all so much for your thoughts, prayers and kind messages. The scleral fitting went well (first trial lens too loose, second much better, third one too tight - we're going with the second). My vision is still 20/20 under the ointment and the doctor thinks I will get very good distance vision back. The lens will be here in about a week and I will need to see him three to four more times. We are also working on a regular contact for my right eye - I think it's going to need a little tweaking too, but oh my goodness I am excited about this.
This is yet another way I am indebted to our armed forces. Scleral lens technology has developed in response to horrible burn injuries incurred by our solders in the Gulf War. I am humbled to be benefiting from their suffering and will be saying a prayer for them every time I put in my contact.
More details: Most patients who need scleral lenses have a bulge in their cornea, while mine is flattened due to LASIK surgery. It took nearly an hour and a half to be fitted, but that included the normal contact for my right eye.
The lens is made by Advanced Vision Technologies (
http://www.avtlens.com/#!scleral) and will cost about $750. The doctor's office is running it through insurance as a medical necessity to see what happens. Best case it will be approved. If not I will file an appeal, arguing that after five years I am not going to get any more improvement in my blink and that a scleral lens is more cost effective than treatment for corneal abrasions or for injuries sustained in accidents due to poor vision.
Finally, I am going to focus on being excited about getting a lens instead of angry that I first asked about a scleral lens almost five years ago and was told it was not for my situation. At that time I think that Boston Foundation for Sight was the only option. Now there are at least a dozen that I have been able to identify and probably more.
