Acanthamoeba keratitis is a rare parasitic eye infection that can damage the cornea and cause blindness. Often, people will contract it from water, while swimming in places like lakes and ponds. According to the Cleveland Clinic, contact lens wearers make up at least 90 percent of the cases.
McKayla Boyd, 27, of Ottumwa, Iowa, knows this firsthand.
“I am unsure how I got it. I was wearing contact lenses at the time, but I had not been swimming,” Boyd says. “We think it came from the shower water getting in my eye while I was wearing contacts.”
Although eyedrops successfully killed the parasite, it left severe scarring on Boyd’s right cornea, and she was unable to see out of her right eye.
In February of 2024, Dr. Mark Greiner, MD, performed a cornea transplant on Boyd at University of Iowa Health Care-University Campus using tissue recovered, evaluated, and distributed by Iowa Lions Eye Bank.
“I was nervous going in but excited to eventually get my eyesight back,” Boyd says. “I had full faith in Dr. Greiner, so I was not scared.”
After the transplant, Boyd, a loan servicing specialist at Hills Bank and Trust, saw her quality of life improve.
“My vision is still on the mend, but it is such a relief to not be looking through a foggy eye anymore,” Boyd says. “While still blurry, my vision is clear, where it used to be like looking out of a dirty window. This has made everyday things like driving and working with screens so much easier.”
Boyd also can again do things she enjoys, like reading, writing, and going on walks.
“I knew eyesight was important before, but this experience made me so grateful to have working eyes,” Boyd says. “I take extra care to see the beauty in everything now, just because I have the ability to.”
Boyd says she is thankful to the staff at University of Iowa Health Care for taking care of her throughout her illness and is grateful for her cornea donor and their loved ones for the gift of sight.
“I am forever grateful to organ donors and while I was listed as a donor before the surgery, I am extra proud to be a part of that community now,” Boyd says.