A few years ago, Erika Schofield noticed it was getting harder to read the nutrition labels on spice jars, and at times, the television looked a little fuzzy. She was in her early 60s at the time and put it down to getting older.
She might need a stronger prescription for her glasses, she thought.
But when she went to get it checked out, Erika was told she needed to see an ophthalmologist as soon as she could. She was diagnosed with Fuchs’ dystrophy, a progressive condition that damages the cornea and can eventually lead to blindness if left untreated.
It was a shock to the system, to say the least. Erika needed surgery urgently.
“I initially thought I was just having cataracts done,” Erika tells Women’s Agenda. “Then the ophthalmologist said, ‘No, this is serious. You have to have it done urgently. Otherwise you’ll go blind.’ It really threw me.”
“I had always been careful with my eyes… so it was a shock,” Erika says.
Becoming a corneal transplant recipient
What Erika didn’t realise immediately was that the surgeries she was scheduled to undergo meant she would become the recipient of donated corneal tissue in each eye.
Most people know about organ donation, but many don’t realise that donated tissue can also significantly improve lives. For Erika, it restored her sight.
That someone had been generous enough to donate their corneas was incredibly moving for Erika, whose daughter Emma had previously been a recipient of a donated kidney.
“To think a family had agreed to donate their loved ones’ tissue to a stranger is incredible,” Erika said. “I couldn’t complain. I just had to be grateful.”
Erika underwent three corneal transplants in the end after experiencing a complication after her second surgery when the tissue for her left eye didn’t attach correctly.
The recovery each time was uncomfortable for Erika, who says she had to lie flat on her back for days or even weeks at a time with no pillow, and no ability to shower.
“It was a trauma,” she says. “But knowing I was had received someone’s donated cornea really made me not get stressed or cranky. I kept thinking, ‘I’ve got to do this because somebody made this possible.'”
Erika found herself thinking about the people whose decision to become tissue donors had made her transplant a reality, and she says she is really grateful.
Erika’s surgeon restored her vision in both eyes to 20/20 through cataract surgery, implanted lenses and the donated corneal tissue.
A family that understands organ and tissue donation
Erika’s family is one of the thousands across Australia who have been personally impacted by organ and tissue donation. For them, it’s been multi-faceted.
Five years ago, her daughter Emma received a life-saving kidney transplant. Another close family member is currently waiting for a kidney transplant, while a nephew has also undergone a kidney transplant.
“We’re very aware of it,” Erika said, who strongly encourages her friends to make sure they have registered as an organ and tissue donor.
“We would have lost our daughter five years ago.”
As Erika points out, anyone in Australia aged 16 and over can register as an organ and tissue donor. It only takes one minute, and has the potential to change lives.
After you’ve registered, it’s important to tell your family you want to be a donor.
“It’s a difficult conversation for some people,” Erika says. “But when you think about it, someone has lost their life and someone else gets a second chance. That’s incredible.”
She believes hearing real stories from transplant recipients can make a huge difference in how the community approaches donation.
“When people see how well someone is doing afterwards, it makes them think about it differently,” she says.
A new lease on life
After a period of recovery and some complications that needed treatment, Erika says the corneal transplants in each eye have given her a new lease on life. Her vision is as good as it’s ever been and she no longer struggles to read labels on food packets, and doesn’t need to squint to see the jersey numbers or the score of the footy on television.
“I can read the recipe without squinting, it’s so much easier and [when I’m] driving – I didn’t realise how many things I was missing,” she says.
“Everything is so much clearer. It really is incredible.”
Erika hasn’t looked back since and is soaking up as much family time as she can.
“It’s been amazing… it’s just transformed the whole aspect of looking at things,” she said. “It’s like the first time you get glasses and you see everything. It’s like that again.”
Erika says she often thinks about the people who donated their corneas and is thankful for their choice to do so. She hopes every Australian in need of a transplant gets the same chance she did.
Find out more about organ and tissue donation at donatelife.gov.au.
It only takes one minute to register as an organ and tissue donor at donatelife.gov.au or through Medicare. Then, tell your family you want to be a donor.