Researcher trying to understand AK

Dear all, 



I am a scientific researcher trying to understand Acanthamoeba Keratitis and the impact of this disease it has on patients lives. 

I would love to connect with anyone who is willing to share their story and answer some or all of these questions below.

Some of the questions we are interested in learning more information from you would include; 

What was the brand of contact lenses and solution you were using?  

Did you know of Acanthamoeba prior to infection?  

Would this have influenced wearing CL?

How long did it take for your case to be diagnosed from presentation of initial symptoms of keratitis?

What was the treatment regimen they put you on when they confirmed it was in fact AK? Duration (time period, hospital stays, any other relevant information about your case)? 

How long have you been followed up with after your last date of treatment? Are you still on medication? Have you been given the all clear?

Have you had to miss any work/school days with regards to treatment of the disease or at the beginning of infection, before diagnosis?  

Was there any costs associated with the treatment or care throughout infection or follow up period? 

If there was one thing about the treatment process that you could change, what would it be and why? 

Would you ever consider wearing contact lenses again? Even if it was used as a slow drug release medical device to dose drug instead of waking up to put in eye drops?

Please send me an email at ([email protected]) with your name, time zone and some date/times you would be available to virtually meet. We (2 undergraduate students (class project) and myself (researcher)) will organise to meet via Zoom, a free video conferencing software, to discuss and hear the story and answer. We are currently based at the University of Georgia in the timezone EST. We will work with your timezone to schedule whenever you are available. 



Thanks in advance if you are reading this. 



Chris Rice.