MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. -- Newlywed Hayley Bester has had to look at her wedding pictures with only one eye. Bester's right eye has been the victim of an attack by a water-borne parasite called Acanthamoeba Keratitis.
"On my honeymoon, we were having a great time and went swimming in the pools and used the hot tubs," recalled Bester. "I am a contact lens wearer, or I was. I had kept them in when I was in the tubs, hot tubs and the pool (aboard their cruise ship to Alaska last summer). Apparently, this water-borne parasite got underneath my contact lens and just started making itself at home."
Bester also said she allowed herself to fall asleep wearing the lenses, giving the parasite "an opportunity to proliferate and attack."
Bester began to notice severe pain in her right eye. "My husband (Roy) helped me day and night with eye drops. I had to do them evry hour and there are four to six drops every hour, so that leaves very little time to rest in between."
Her light sensitivity greatly reduced her ability to work at her full-time Pine Bend refinery firefighter's job or her work as a volunteer firefighter at Mendota Heights. Worse is the possibility of worsening her eye condition.
"The amoeba is an organism that lives in water and it also has an affinity for contact lenses," commented Dr. Omar Awad, corneal opthamologist with the Phillips Eye Institute of Minneapolis and the Awad Eye Center in Falcon Heights.
Awad's office in Falcon Heights includes one of only three "confocal" microscopes in Minnesota, which allows him to see more deeply into the tissue of the eye.
"If there is a break in the surface of the cornea, the acanthamoeba organism can penetrate into the cornea and cause an infection," said Awad, who sees a few cases of acanthamoeba keratitis each year in Minnesota.
If the parasite is not contained or killed, it can spread deeper in the corneal tissue. The worst case scenarios of such a case can mean a corneal transplant or even removal of the eye. "If the organisms spread further out beyond the cornea, then sometimes, you actually have to remove the eye in order to stop the condition," said Awad.
"People have to be very cautious about their contact lens usage, I think, is the best way to prevent it," he said.
The parasite can live in any type of water, chlorinated or not, even tap water. "And coming in contact with any type of water, whether it is showering, washing your face, rinsing contact lens cases (while wearing contacts is foolish)," said Bester. "it is not the pools and the hot tubs that are the problem. It is wearing the contacts in water. It takes just one droplet with a parasite in it that can really affect your vision."
Bester is barely able to open her right eye. Fortunately, her left eye is not affected. "Just the one eye. It is not contagious and it does not transfer between the two eyes," explained Bester.
Advice from Dr. Awad about contact lens users includes avoiding home-made lens cleaning solutions. "You should use a commercially prepared contact lens cleaning solution and there are certain solutions that are better than others for killing organisms."
Also, he recommends getting to an eye doctor quickly if one is experiencing pain in the eye, particularly if one is a contact lens wearer.
Hayley Bester tried going to Canada for an experimental treatment, not approved in this country, but it only helped for a short time.
"The topical medications for treating this condition are not commercially available," said Awad. "But they are compounded at the Phillips Eye Institute where they have a special compounding pharmacy that can make the medications."
Firefighters John Mendez and Ken Weisenburger of the Mendota Heights Fire Department has organized a benefit for Hayley and Roy to help defer some medical expenses. The event is at the Mendota VFW. Details of the event are on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/206932012732078.
Donations to help the Besters can be mailed to:
Hayley Bester Benefit, c/o Gateway Bank
745 Market Street
Mendota Heights, MN 55118
Checks should be made out to "Hayley Bester Benefit."
Hayley's Caring Bridge site can be accessed at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hayleybester.
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