From blindness to “I can see!”
Cornea transplant recipient continues passion for photography after regaining her sight.
By Rae Price - January 8, 2025
From vision to blindness in a few days
Wanda Steadham had just retired in 2018 after a 40-year career as a computer operator for a phone company when she lost vision in one of her eyes.
She was diagnosed with Keratoconus in both eyes about 30 years earlier, and was told she may eventually need a cornea transplant, but never had any severe problems. Then two weeks after retiring she suddenly lost vision in her left eye. Reflecting, she said, “You hear about people retiring and something bad happens — not that you die when you lose your sight, but here’s two weeks out and I lost my sight. It was scary.”
The timeline from losing her vision to surgery moved fast. Wanda said when she realized her vision was gone, she immediately went to the doctor who sent her to a specialist, and within a week, she had a cornea transplant.
Lost hope restored
“You immediately lose hope,” she said. Wanda had been assisting a friend who was blind so she knew a little about what it might be like but had no idea she would have to deal with losing her own sight. “But here I was, all of a sudden, I only had vision in one eye,” she said. “My mind was racing with thoughts of what life would be like with no vision.” She still had sight in her right eye, but it was a frightening experience, nonetheless.
Her husband and children rejoiced with her when she regained sight and embraced the cornea as family, even giving it a name, “JD.” Wanda laughed when telling this and said “JD” now gets blamed for a lot of things she (Wanda) does wrong.
She has a deep appreciation for her donor’s family, although they have not connected. With that in mind, Wanda encourages people to say yes to eye, organ, and tissue donation and put themselves on the donor registry.
Wanda and Brooke at the Denver Broncos game.
At a recent Denver Broncos game, Wanda met Brooke Best, a woman who had three family members who were cornea donors - her mother, father, and mother-in-law. “To see the compassion in her eyes of not meeting anyone who received their family’s donation, but then to meet a recipient like me, it gave me a different view.” Wanda added, “There were a lot of hugs that day because she realized the benefit of her family members being donors.”
Wanda’s message to people on the fence about donating eyes, organs and tissue is, “I say, just consider the fact that 99.999 percent it will be helpful to someone if you are a donor. Especially for the eye tissue and corneas. Corneas are universal donors, and so to say yes to being a donor, you’re saying, ‘I want to give someone hope.’”
Passion for Photography led to Circle of Light
Wanda holding her photo chosen for the Circle of Light Photo Project, when it was on display at HCA HealthONE Swedish.
Wanda's photo taken in Maui, Hawaii, titled "There's Gold in them Hills" is featured in the Circle of Light Photo Project.
Wanda always had a passion for travel and photography and said the thought of not having the vision to take pictures was unimaginable. She has participated in the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank Circle of Light Photo Project for many years. The project asks cornea transplant recipients to submit photos of things they are grateful to be able to see. In 2024, Wanda submitted a photo of a rainbow in Hawaii, which was selected to be included in a traveling exhibit throughout Colorado and Wyoming.
When asked about capturing the rainbow image, Wanda explained, “Hawaii is known for its rainbows and this particular one was just ‘right there’ and I just felt like I could touch it.” She continued, “Because of the photo you know that I can see; and you know because you’re seeing the colors in the rainbow that there is hope because you can see.”
Wanda concluded, “Being able to see is a blessing, and when it’s taken away from you whether through cataracts, disease, or scarring it’s a sad day. For sight to be restored is a wonderful thing!”
Go Back Wanda Steadham had just retired in 2018 after a 40-year career as a computer operator for a phone company when she lost vision in one of her eyes.
She was diagnosed with Keratoconus in both eyes about 30 years earlier, and was told she may eventually need a cornea transplant, but never had any severe problems. Then two weeks after retiring she suddenly lost vision in her left eye. Reflecting, she said, “You hear about people retiring and something bad happens — not that you die when you lose your sight, but here’s two weeks out and I lost my sight. It was scary.”
The timeline from losing her vision to surgery moved fast. Wanda said when she realized her vision was gone, she immediately went to the doctor who sent her to a specialist, and within a week, she had a cornea transplant.
Lost hope restored
“You immediately lose hope,” she said. Wanda had been assisting a friend who was blind so she knew a little about what it might be like but had no idea she would have to deal with losing her own sight. “But here I was, all of a sudden, I only had vision in one eye,” she said. “My mind was racing with thoughts of what life would be like with no vision.” She still had sight in her right eye, but it was a frightening experience, nonetheless.
Her husband and children rejoiced with her when she regained sight and embraced the cornea as family, even giving it a name, “JD.” Wanda laughed when telling this and said “JD” now gets blamed for a lot of things she (Wanda) does wrong.
She has a deep appreciation for her donor’s family, although they have not connected. With that in mind, Wanda encourages people to say yes to eye, organ, and tissue donation and put themselves on the donor registry.
Wanda and Brooke at the Denver Broncos game.
At a recent Denver Broncos game, Wanda met Brooke Best, a woman who had three family members who were cornea donors - her mother, father, and mother-in-law. “To see the compassion in her eyes of not meeting anyone who received their family’s donation, but then to meet a recipient like me, it gave me a different view.” Wanda added, “There were a lot of hugs that day because she realized the benefit of her family members being donors.”
Wanda’s message to people on the fence about donating eyes, organs and tissue is, “I say, just consider the fact that 99.999 percent it will be helpful to someone if you are a donor. Especially for the eye tissue and corneas. Corneas are universal donors, and so to say yes to being a donor, you’re saying, ‘I want to give someone hope.’”
Passion for Photography led to Circle of Light
Wanda holding her photo chosen for the Circle of Light Photo Project, when it was on display at HCA HealthONE Swedish.
Wanda's photo taken in Maui, Hawaii, titled "There's Gold in them Hills" is featured in the Circle of Light Photo Project.
Wanda always had a passion for travel and photography and said the thought of not having the vision to take pictures was unimaginable. She has participated in the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank Circle of Light Photo Project for many years. The project asks cornea transplant recipients to submit photos of things they are grateful to be able to see. In 2024, Wanda submitted a photo of a rainbow in Hawaii, which was selected to be included in a traveling exhibit throughout Colorado and Wyoming.
When asked about capturing the rainbow image, Wanda explained, “Hawaii is known for its rainbows and this particular one was just ‘right there’ and I just felt like I could touch it.” She continued, “Because of the photo you know that I can see; and you know because you’re seeing the colors in the rainbow that there is hope because you can see.”
Wanda concluded, “Being able to see is a blessing, and when it’s taken away from you whether through cataracts, disease, or scarring it’s a sad day. For sight to be restored is a wonderful thing!”