So, why did I choose to have a corneal transplant? Basically it came down to weighing the risks. I had come to a point were my entire life was being affected by the disease. In my career I had taken positions that were not my ideal job simply because I couldn't see. I was considering giving up my driving and motorcycle licenses because I started not seeing cars and stoplights. I was becoming a shut-in traveling just between work and my apartment because I felt trapped between a world that expected me to be of normal vision, and the world of the blind. Basically, because of KC, I was slipping deeper and deeper into the hole of depression.
So I weighed the risks. The worse that could happen was that I could lose sight in whichever eye they operated on, but I was feeling like I was starting to live the life of a blind man anyway. The best that could happen is that I could see again and start rebuilding my life. To me, despite all my previous doctors discouraging me from surgery, I knew the answer was to have the corneal transplant.
Almost as hard as deciding if to have a corneal transplant, is when to have a corneal transplant. At the point in life I was at, it was the sooner the better. However, anyone having a corneal transplant needs to understand the length of time involved in healing. During the operation, the surgeon puts in two sets of sutures. The first set is a running stitch that looks like a starburst. The second set is a set of interrupted stitches that the surgeon will adjust / remove during the healing process to try and correct astigmatism. Usually the doctor does not begin trying to correct vision with glasses or contacts for three months after surgery. Even at this point, vision is expected to change often as the surgeon adjusts the interrupted stitches. The vision may even take nine months to a year to become fully stable. At the end of the year, depending on your surgeon, the last of the stitches may or may not come out. Of course during this entire process of ever changing lens prescriptions, most health insurance companies won't reimburse you for the lenses.
When all is said and done, no matter what I, or anyone else has said, the decision to have or not have a corneal transplant is yours.