PERSONAL

8 Mar 2008 : My vision is not good and there is not going to be any improvement unless I have another cornea transplant. I am functioning at a reduced level and making receivers which I will continue to do. I am just not ready to go through the whole thing again.

28 Feb 08: My vision is deteriorating again. It varies with the eye pressure. Now the pressure is lower and under control again, I have less vision. More pressure = better vision but ends in blindness. I can't win. Doctor says I must have another cornea transplant if I want to see better. Good news is that there is a new type of laser transplant method that causes less astigmatism and shorter heal time. I function so I'm not going to do anything at this time. Contact lenses didn't work but they are still trying. I'll try to get new glasses which I do about every 3 months.

22 Jan 08: Like an old car, I got my eye repaired again but it cost me two days and wasn't fun. Anyway, I'm functioning again.

20 Jan 08: Just when things seem to be going well, one of the stitches in my eye holding the implanted shunt in place has come loose and has penetrated out through the surface of my eye. Also, Glaucoma is again out of control. Probably not a big deal but it always involves more discomfort and lost time.

16 Nov 07: The latest on my eye problems are that the glaucoma (pressure) problem has been solved by the implanted shunt (drain) in my right eye but the vision after 10 operations on that eye is virtually non-existent. I will have to start over with a new cornea transplant and inside lens implant. My left eye vision was improved by laser to the point where I can function with that eye. So, I'm stable and functioning without medication but I don't see well. This will be the last post for awhile because I need a break and I need to catch up with my life before I endure another cornea transplant. I'm going to make my receivers and catch up on everything else for the time being. It appears that this chapter is closed without a particularly happy ending.

People keep asking about the status of my vision problem. I have not been saying anything about it because nothing much was happening and I was waiting for more analysis. Everything has stabled out. Pressure (Glaucoma caused by medication and operations) has been under control for a long time now and appears to no longer be a problem. I still can barely see out of my cornea transplanted eye. Every test has shown that I should be able to see out of that eye, yet I can't. Consensus has been reached that the cornea has failed and I need a new one. That is what I have thought for months. I believe the LASIK correction to the cornea was what damaged it but no one will admit it. Getting a new cornea will not nearly be as bad as the last time. One of the worst aspects of the transplant recovery was that I was sick in bed so much and couldn't function. We have now discovered that I am allergic to the anti-rejection medication. We have switched medications and now I have no adverse reaction. Thanks a lot doctors for not realizing what was going on!!!!

The good news is that I made it thru essentially intact and, because of the work done on my left eye, can see better overall than when this all started. But I got so far behind with everything as a result of all the medical procedures that I am not willing to gamble on getting a new cornea at this time. When I get caught up and have some time, then I will consider another transplant.

                                                           WHAT HAPPENED TO DOUG RICHARDSON?
                                                                            By Doug Richardson
                                                                               March 22, 2006

I do not like talking about my problems both because there is no reason to burden others and because it depresses me. But, with so many people depending on me for Thompson products that are not available from anyone else and waiting for so long for them that one wonders if I have run off with their money or have succumbed to lying in front of the TV and drinking my life away (I don’t have TV and rarely drink). I feel that it is only fair that I explain exactly what has happened to me. Maybe this will even help someone else.

I was born with keratoconis. Keratoconis is a genetic defect that causes the cornea of the eye to distort and become coned shaped with time. It is usually not diagnosed correctly in children (especially in my generation - I am 68). Instead the child “just needs glasses” and , of course, the child is not well co-ordinated as evidenced in his inability to catch a ball (I failed at all sports that involve a ball.) and has a learning disability as evidence by his difficulty in learning to read. (Because the type is not clear. In my entire life, I have never read a book for enjoyment.) Glasses cannot correct for keratoconis. However, hard contact lenses can because they force the cornea into a smooth shape although that creates discomfort. About the time I started college, hard contact lenses had been developed to the point where they started to be fitted generally. I was fitted and, for the first time in my life, the distorted world I had become accustomed to, became focused. This enabled me to get degrees in mechanical engineering and law and a master in business management.

The progression of the keratoconis seemed to have stopped but the threat that it could again become active and end in blindness was always there. A few years ago, I suffered trauma to the right side of my face which seems to have awakened the keratoconis progression in my right eye and also left me with the inability to fully open my right eye. More and more specialized contact lenses enabled me to see fairly well. Finally, contact lenses could no longer provide me with good vision. This loss of my ability to be corrected, caused a catastrophic failure of my vision and caused the termination of my ability to make the Thompson receivers that everyone liked so much.

In a way, the timing was fortunate because, a couple of years before, I had joined a government funded keratoconis study being conducted at Cedars Sinai Hospital with the goal of identifying the cause which had, theretofore, not been known. Also, great advances had just been made in laser modification of corneas and other eye medical procedures. Even so, the only treatment available for people with severe keratoconis was a cornea transplant (graft).

I won’t go into all the details, but I did get plastic surgery to repair the trauma damage which prevented me from fully opening my right eye, laser modification of my left eye to make it work moderately well and had a cornea transplant on my right eye. Complications followed leading to a lens implant in my right eye and generating glaucoma. Further laser surgery ended in my right eye becoming infected, ending in virtual blindness in that eye. I am now scheduled for the ninth operation which is another laser surgery to try to restore my right eye vision.

The good news is that in the last few months, I have been able to be in the shop, restart my machines after long dormancy and have started making my products again. The bad news is that I have gotten so far behind that it is going to take time to catch up. I can’t give dates when this or that will get done. I am doing the best I can. I have been telling people that if they want a receiver, send $100 deposit and be patient. Now that I have a web site (WWW.ThompsonSMG.com), I will try to post information from time to time.

March 30: Doug had 9th eye operation. This one to attempt to restore vision in right eye and save cornea transplant.

April 3: Eye check following 9th eye surgery. Results so far so good.

April 6: Post eye surgery checkup. Prior to the surgery, I was told I had a 1 in 4 chance of it being successful. On the day of the surgery, I was told the chance of success was up to 50/50. Today I was told it was successful. I've heard that before, only to be disappointed as things played out. Time will tell.

Apr. 11: Unplanned eye check because bandage on eye surface fell off. The doctor says everything is going well & I will be able to see with that eye. I've heard that before but I guess there is hope.

Made new fixture for Pivot Plate Tool Blade & finalized the machine program. I have been asked if the machines I use are computer controlled (CNC) milling machines. I do have a CNC milling machine, but the machines I use for production are what are known as Vertical Machining Centers (VMC). These are essentially fully automatic milling machines housed in a cabinet with all the cutters mounted in adaptor/holders loaded into a magazine in the cabinet. The VMC is controlled by a computer that is programmed with what are known as "G-codes". The codes along with other information direct the VMC to get a particular tool, move the table, turn on the coolant at the cut and do what ever the program calls for.

April 18: Eye check at Cedars Sinai today. Eye surface bandage had fallen out & was replaced. They say my eye is healing nicely from surgery #9 but can't or won't say when they think I will have some decent vision.

Apr. 25 : Eye check at Cedars-Sinai. Surface of eye healed perfectly from surgery #9 but i still can't see. Now they are telling me that the inside of the cornea has not healed properly and that the medication may have permanently damaged the optic nerve. (see Apr 6 update). I did get rid of the 1/2" thick "coke bottle" glasses that I got 2 weeks ago that were causing me vision distortion and eye strain, so now my left eye is functioning better. I get a new pair of glasses at least once a month because my vision is so unstable. Anyway, this day is shot and now we have more rain coming which makes it difficult for me to use the Malibu shop.

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