Improved Vision For Local Sugormoker
On January 28, 1970, Lee Berthiaume, of Fairfax, went for a ride on his snowmobile with his brother and his cousin. They had gone on a long ride, stopped to cook hot dogs, and headed back to his cousin's house. It was cold and windy outside, and the trio decided to take one last ride up the road to see how much snow had blown across the four corners of Brickchurch Road, Rugg Road, and Cherrierville Road.
"We were riding 3 abreast in the middle of the road, and came upon a tree branch down across the road," said Lee. "My brother missed it, my cousin hit the end, and 1 got the branch right in my eye."
As a result of Lee's injury, he developed a cataract in his left eye. "Compression injuries of the eye turn the lens from clear to cloudy," said Dr. Gregory Brophey, Ophthalmologist, of Northwestern Ophthalmology.
Over time, Lee completely lost vision in his left eye. "During sugaring about 8 years ago, all of a sudden 1 couldn't see anymore," he said. "I kept saying 1 should go to the eye doctor ... "
But it wasn't until years later, in this past May, that Lee actually sought help for his eye. Lee was spreading some fertilizer for his brother. He took off his safety glasses to see how the fertilizer spreader was working, and got something in his eye. "About 24 hours later, it started to hurt pretty good," said Lee.
The pain kept him awake all night, and the pain grew more and more intense. Lee waited until morning, when his sister, Gail Stafford, awoke, to mention the pain. "I figured we'd be headed to the hospital," he said.
"When I saw it, it looked like an angry, angry eye - it was red, and really swollen," said Gail.
According to Dr. Brophey, in Lee's situation, there was actually no sign of fertilizer injury to the eye, but there was a much more serious situation developing. Over time, his cataractous lens started to liquefy, leaking lens proteins into the front of the eye, creating considerable pressure - and-pain - a very rare condition known as phacolytic glaucoma. "The goal in treating Lee was to first get the pressure in his eye down, then remove the leaking cataract, which was at the root of Lee's problems," said Dr. Brophey.
Dr. Brophey performed cataract surgery on Lee's eye at Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans to replace his faulty lens. "Lee's procedure was much longer and more complex than the typical run-of-the mill ataract," explained Brophey. He says that at NMC, his patients receive eye drops to numb the eye and intravenous medication to relax - and even nap - through the procedure. Patients have their surgery and go home the same
day, often without even a protective eye patch. "The benefits of the surgery far outweigh the risks," said Dr. Brophey. "Lee is a perfect example: Prior to the surgery, he could only see light out of his eye, now he has vision back, and depth perception."
Sitting in Lee's kitchen, he can now see the clock across the room on the wall, and the ledges and trees out of his window. "I think it helps with balance quite a bit, and depth perception," said Lee. Lee is currently clearing a wooded area on his property of hemlock and pine trees to make room for his growing sugaring operation. "It has helped with walking in the woods, and holes, and such," said Lee.
"I find a tremendous amount of relief that he doesn't have to go through that pain ever again," said Gail. "It was very worrisome to me. Dr. Brophey was very good about explaining things in terms anyone could understand."
"I couldn't ask for better care, no question about that," said Lee. "I was taken care of well throughout all of this experience, real well as far as I'm concerned."
For more information about eye surgery at NMC, call Northwestern Ophthalmology at 524-4274. Northwestern Ophthalmology is located at 53 Fairfax Road in St. Albans.
