SynergEyes Grants Life-Changing Gift for Holidays: Ability to Distinguish Family Faces

CARLSBAD, Calif., Dec. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- This holiday season patients are receiving the life-changing gift of clear and comfortable vision thanks to the Sharing Vision Grant Program sponsored by SynergEyes, Inc. This program was created to bring the new technologically advanced ClearKone® hybrid contact lens to keratoconus patients who may otherwise not have access. Keratoconus is a degenerative eye disease that occurs 1 in 1,000 people causing substantially distorted vision and in many cases changes how they live their lives. Patients can apply for the program at http://www.TreatKeratoconus.com.

Cassidy Randle was a successful college student looking to go to nursing school after graduation. Just as any young girl, she wanted to get rid of her glasses and therefore underwent refractive eye surgery in 2003. Initially her vision was okay and then it started deteriorating. In no time she was almost blind in her left eye and had poor vision in the right eye. She had seen many cornea specialists and tried many type of lenses, but unfortunately, none of the lenses gave her the comfort or the vision back. It came to a point that she was unable to drive a car and her hopes of nursing school were fading.  "I began to worry and think to myself: 'How will I be able to focus in school if I am unable to see?'" Cassidy said. And her worries were more personal as well. "The worst feeling imaginable is being unable to distinguish my family's faces and see their expressions."

After Dr. Gupta at the University of Texas Medial Branch (UTMB) Eye Center volunteered her time and provided a free fitting for Cassidy in ClearKone® lenses, provided free by SynergEyes, Inc., Cassidy is now able to see again. "When I tried on the lenses for the first time I knew the difference in my vision was going to be life-changing," said Cassidy. Thanks to the Sharing Vision Grant Program and Dr. Gupta, Cassidy can see her father's face again and she can pursue her dream of becoming a nurse.

Currently, over 15 patients are enrolled in the program, receiving free lenses from SynergEyes and free fitting from participating eye care practitioners. One of these patients is Melanie LeMay who is working with Dr. Adam Gordon of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Eye Center to achieve clear vision for the first time in 17 years. "I can't think of a better Christmas gift than a pair of ClearKone® lenses!" said Melanie. "These lenses will be life-changing for me and for others as well."

The ClearKone® hybrid contact lens is the only hybrid lens of its kind for keratoconus and is having a significant impact on thousands of patients. Available for less than a year, this new technology offers both clear vision and comfort for patients who would otherwise have to compromise their vision. SynergEyes is the only company that makes a hybrid lens which has a "hard" center for the clear vision, and a soft outer skirt that provides comfort.

About SynergEyes®:

SynergEyes®, Inc. was founded in 2001 with a recognized need for a hybrid contact lens that combined the superior visual acuity of a rigid gas permeable lens with the comfort of a soft contact lens. The patented SynergEyes® hybrid technology with FDA market clearance is providing comfortable clear vision through the services of more than 5000 eye care practitioners throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.

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SOURCE SynergEyes, Inc.