Imagine being a teacher and not being able to see properly. A woman in Bradford County was struggling with deteriorating vision and didn't know why.
Dorothy Weir loves music. She's been teaching music at Northeast Bradford Elementary School near Le Raysville for years. She says she's always had corrective lenses, but two years ago, noticed her eyesight worsening. She couldn't read, started seeing double, and cut back on driving because she was afraid of what she wouldn't see.
"It was difficult. When the swelling would take over, my lids would become so heavy I would have children ask me in class if I was falling asleep," Weir remembers.
Eye doctors told her to get a medical checkup, which is when she learned she had an autoimmune disorder called sarcoidosis. It was treated with steroids, but those caused even more problems. Dorothy feared she'd lose her sight altogether.
"The high doses of steroids caused the cataracts. The cataracts became so bad they couldn't determine whether the issues were from the autoimmune disease or the cataracts," she explained.
Dr. Daniel Upton had a plan for both. He's an ophthalmologist at Geisinger Wyoming Valley near Wilkes-Barre, who consulted with a neuro-ophthalmologist on Dorothy's case.
"The cataract has a bubbly appearance to it. The bubbles change the light, bend it everywhere. you can get double vision in just one eye. Then with both eyes things can look really strange, like seeing 3 of things!" Dr. Upton told us.
Dr. Upton did two surgeries, on Dorothy, one in May and one in June, working on one eye at a time. He removed the cataracts, and implanted new lenses into her eyes. Although there's no way to treat the autoimmune disease itself, the portion of her eye where attacked is now essentially blocked off. And in addition to all of that, she no longer needs glasses or contacts.
"She's 20/20 in both eyes, very happy, able to read her music," Dr. Upton reported.
"I can see all kinds of things. Like I've never seen before!" she said, which means she can get back to reading - and teaching- music.