Vim & Vigor - Summer 2018 - Community Healthcare - 3

COMMUNITY BRIEFS

OPENING EYES
TO THE GOODNESS
IN THE WORLD
Honoring organ, eye and tissue donors
At the age of 28, Schererville
resident Bill Perry was diagnosed with advanced keratoconus and told he could go blind. A
cornea transplant saved his sight.
Perry, guest speaker at the seventh
annual Donate Life Rose Dedication ceremony last fall, told those in the audience that he sees goodness in the world
and that he has much to be thankful for.
He says a day hasn't gone by since his
transplant that he hasn't thought about
the gift his donor left him-the ability to
see again.
Advanced keratoconus is a progressive eye disease in which the cornea
thins and begins to bulge into a conelike shape. In addition to being painful,
the cone shape deflects light and causes
vision distortion.

WEBSITE

Are You a Donor?
Indiana residents can register their intent to be
organ and tissue donors
while obtaining or renewing a driver's license.
Registration is also accepted
at donatelifeindiana.org.

At the time of his diagnosis, Perry
was about to get married and felt
he had a bright future ahead of him.
When he was told the keratoconus
could spread and he could go blind, he
was devastated.
"It was a sad situation," he recalls.
"But about one month later, because
of a donor's generosity, I received a
cornea transplant."
"Today I am a nurse in the catheterization lab at Community Hospital in
Munster," Perry says. "I couldn't do the
things I do today if it hadn't been for
this great gift of vision. Twenty-one
years after my transplant, I was able to
say thank you in public to the generous
donor who provided me with the lifechanging gift of sight. It is so important
to make your wishes known. Just one
person can save many lives and make
a difference."
One person can save up to eight
lives through the donation of lifesaving organs-heart, kidney, liver, lungs,
pancreas and small intestine-and
enhance the lives of more than 50 people who need corneas to see, skin to
heal from burns, and bones and connective tissue for common knee, back
and dental surgeries.
Throughout the year, the hospitals
of Community Healthcare System partner with Gift of Hope and VisionFirst
eye bank to raise awareness regarding

Twenty-one years after Bill Perry (shown
here with wife, Denise) received a cornea
transplant, he recognized the donor at
Community Healthcare System's Donate
Life Rose Dedication ceremony last fall.

For 48 hours following every organ, eye
and tissue donation, each hospital of the
Community Healthcare System flies the
Donate Life flag as a silent salute to those
who have provided the greatest gift.

organ, eye and tissue donations. Each
hospital flies the Donate Life flag for
48 hours following every donation as a
silent salute to those who have provided
the greatest gift. The Donate Life Rose
Dedication ceremony is another opportunity for staff at Community Hospital,
Munster, St. Catherine Hospital, East
Chicago and St. Mary Medical Center,
Hobart, to reconnect with donor families and thank them for their compassion
and courage. ■

SU MM E R 2 01 8

http://www.donatelifeindiana.org

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