Hello! My name is Julia Teixeira and I am from Brazil. I am 31, but I discovered my keratoconus when I was 14. The day that I knew I have cried so much. I was born in a small town in Brazil and my doctor did not have so much experience in keratoconus.
So, he suggested me to look for a Hospital in a big city. Well, I used to wear glasses since my age 10, but the keratoconus changed my life. Once a year I traveled with my family 6 hours by car to visit the Eye Hospital in Belo Horizonte. The doctors were very clear with me and I started to wear Rose K.
All my life I had to live with allergy and was not so easy to stay with "solid" contact lenses.
When I was 19 I moved to SP and I needed to visit another doctor. Well, my surprise was when I was 28 that doctor told me that I need to have a transplant in my left eye. I felt down. I cried all day long and had trouble in my job.
So, one day I was crying in a bathroom about the transplant possibility and a friend of mine gave a keratoconus doctor specialist number. I made the phone call that day and one week later I was being examined by Tadeu Cvintal – the most important doctor in corneal transplant in Brazil. He told me that I did not need surgery and I had the possibility to wear scleral lenses. He recommended being patient to Dr. Marcelo, his friend and a good doctor too.
So, I felt hope in that moment, but at the same time angry because the other doctor could operate my eye.
My journey with keratoconus was not in the end. I used scleral lenses about 3 years, but my allergy began again and my time with scleral was not so long. After the 30s the hypermetropy appeared and I did not adapt more with scleral. So, my doctor advised me that problem could worse. Well, I began depression, because I like to practice sports, go to the beach and keratoconus was a prison for me. I started to have panic attacks and my vision was worse. My only exit was try Intacs, even if they could not work form me.
I took 4 months to decide insert Intacs. I was shaking and nervous, but it was my freedom. The surgery was ok and my doctor was very confident. Well, Now I am here, three months later, writing this article for you. Without glasses and contacts lenses. The surgery was a success! My left eye is so perfect that it compensate my right eye.
I will be married in a few weeks and I am free now. Every day I pray for the doctors and thank God to be blessed!
By Julia Teixeira