The one thing that helped Chad Groeschen see is the same thing that took his sight away.
Tricked by “Night and Day” contact lenses, which claim you can sleep while wearing them, the man from Cincinnati woke up with severe pain in his eye and trouble seeing.
Groeschen developed a serious infection, likely caused by sleeping with the extended-wear lenses for several nights in a row.
Now, he needs a cornea transplant and is warning others to “maintain impeccable hygiene” to avoid the same fate.
In 2015, Chad Groeschen woke up with severe pain in his left eye and could barely see.
But that was not the right choice.
Soon, Groeschen, a sculptor, could no longer see out of his left eye and was told he would probably need a corneal transplant to restore his sight.
“Good vision is important for overall well-being and independence, so it’s vital to follow proper care for contact lenses,” said CDC Medical Epidemiologist Jennifer Cope, M.D., M.P.H. Many wearers don’t understand how to care for their lenses properly.
With so many people risking their eyesight, infections can happen more often than many realize. According to the CDC, about one in every 500 contact lens users develops a serious eye infection each year that could lead to blindness.
“I know I might never see fully again, but I don’t know how much vision I’ll get back,” he said.