Michelle Wilder enjoys baking cupcakes with her niece, Kaylin Duffek. A lifetime of vision problems and two failed corneal transplants left Wilder W nearly blind until a Boston Keratoprosthesis, or KP KPro, procedure performed by UF ophthalmologist Dr. S Sonal S. Tuli restored Wilder’s vision and quality of life. Wilder says witnessing her grandson’s birth will remain one of her proudest memories. “If I didn’t get this procedure done, I wouldn’t have been able to see his face,” she says. “I can’t even imagine not being able to see that he looks just like his mother. He’s beautiful.” Born in 1973 with cataracts, Wilder has endured a medical history marred with vision complications. A surgery removed her cataracts at age 6, but she was required to wear oversized glasses throughout her childhood. At 19, she underwent an intraocular lens implant — this synthetic lens replaces the focusing power of the natural lens, which is surgically removed. Then, a virus damaged her cornea. Glaucoma resulted, leaving her almost blind, so she underwent two corneal transplants. Her body rejected both. She and Tuli, chair of the department of ophthalmology at the UF College of Medicine, were at an impasse. Wilde remain o d have bee moth Born i medica A 16 | F LO R I DA P H Y S I C I A N
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