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Dr. Patterson teams with Focus on Independence to give gift of sight to quadriplegic patients
Kate Cutshaw lost most of the use of her arms and legs after a vehicle crash in 2003 left her quadriplegic. For people with paralysis, a task as simple as putting glasses on can be difficult or even impossible on their own. Kate used to depend on her family members to help her put her glasses on every day.
Kate's father, Rick, went online to see if there were any programs out there to help people like Kate who had trouble with their vision, but didn't have the motor skills to put on glasses on their own. This is how he found Focus on Independence, a program started by Daniel Durrie, M.D. for people like Kate.
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Kate Cutshaw before her LASIK operation |
Kate having her eyes prepared for surgery
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Dr. Patterson had volunteered to participate in Focus on Independence, a non-profit organization which provides free laser vision correction to quadriplegic patients. As the first and only eye doctor in Tennessee participating in this program, Dr. Patterson was very happy to work with Kate, who lives in Morristown, TN - a two hour drive away.
On February 13, 2009, Kate underwent LASIK surgery at Eye Centers of Tennessee. The following day, she was already seeing 20/25 and was very pleased and pleasantly suprised with the results. In the coming months as her eyes healed her vision improved even more, and she can now see 20/20 without the need for glasses.
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| Dr. Patterson discussing Kate's surgery with her dad, Rick Cutshaw |
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You can read more about Kate's Story in the June 24 issue of the Crossville Chronicle, or on the Crossville Chronicle website.
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| Kate's eyes being prepped for surgery |
Kate's mother getting her hair into the surgical cap |
Kate's mother and father helping her transfer to the laser bed |
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