My sister Cassie has worked since she was 15 years old. She is a single mom who works full-time as a Radiology Technologist and started a small side business on the side creating candles, t-shirts and other items to make ends meet. A few years ago, Cassie was diagnosed with a bulging aortic aneurysm which has not been monitored regularly due to a change in her job, change in location, and health insurance. More recently, she was diagnosed with cataracts in March of 2024. It was a little surprising considering her age. Most cataracts begin around the age of 70, not in the 40s, but nothing too alarming initially. The doctor prescribed corrective lenses and said to come back in a year. At the year appointment, her prescription had changed quite a bit and the strength was increased. It was also identified that there was a change in the blood vessels behind her left eye. They were large. Something to monitor. The right eye remained unchanged. Eight months ago she went in for a new prescription which increased mildly. But there was a noticeable change in the thickness of her cataract. At this point, she was recommended to the Specialist/ Eye Surgeon. It took about six weeks for her to be seen. At that appointment, they were unable to see the optical nerve using standard equipment and had to use a special doppler to find the nerve. This was alarming and resulted in a stage 4 categorization. If she doesn’t get surgery soon she will go blind in her left eye. Currently, she is unable to see out of that eye. Surgery was set for June 28th but she was unable to have it due to a lack of funds. The insurance deductible is $2700 and the lens is an additional $1500. She just couldn’t fill the gap. Her cataract is defined as an Occupational Cataract due to the way it is forming in the back of the lens and growing through the center. The cause is a result of radiation exposure. She has been an X-Ray Technologist for the past seven years. Exposed to radiation, almost daily, over this time working a full time job. Occupational cataracts can be found among astronauts, glass blowers, airline pilots, and Xray Techs. I am starting this fundraiser for Cassie, with the hope that it will help her pay for this surgery. Without surgery soon, she will go permanently blind in her left eye. I am unable to give her the money and thought a fundraiser might help. I increased the goal of this fundraiser slightly to help her cover bills during her recovery. Thank you for taking the time to read the information about this fundraiser. There are many ways that we can support her: prayer; visiting her website https://www.inkedflames.com/?mibextid=Zxz2cZ to purchase items that she makes and sells; or donations through this fund. Here is back background information about how radiation can cause harm to healthcare workers exposed to occupational exposure. Cataracts, or, more generally, lens opacities can be classified into three main types, based on their anatomic location: nuclear (N), cortical (C) and posterior subcapsular (PSC). PSC is the least common among the three major forms of age-related cataracts. Over time, radioprotection procedures have led to a general reduction of IR exposure in healthcare workers operating or near medical imaging (MI). The development of modern MI techniques has led to the appearance of new modalities of exposure. For example, over the past 30 years, the introduction of interventional cardiologic procedures has resulted in a significant increase in occupational X-ray exposure of interventional cardiologists and other medical, nursing and technical staff involved in radiation-guided interventional procedures, which has led to an elevated risk of radiation injuries. The wider use of MI involving X-rays during interventional procedures has led to the steadily increasing exposure of medical staff to ionizing radiation, especially in the field of interventional cardiology with fluoroscopically guided procedures. Interventional cardiologists work near the source of radiation, and therefore, are potentially at a higher risk of adverse health effects. However, in the case of inadequate protection procedures (e.g. use of protective screens), nurses and technicians who may stand near the patient’s bed for a significant amount of time, are potentially highly exposed.
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