The life of Brooklyn McCasland from Texas turned into a nightmare due to a simple mistake she made during an ordinary beach trip. The 23-year-old woman forgot to take out her contact lenses while swimming in Alabama with her friends in August. This forgetfulness led to irreparable damage to her eye. After returning from the beach, McCasland experienced severe eye pain and initially thought it was just a simple irritation from a grain of sand. Doctors also initially diagnosed it as a common infection and prescribed antibiotics and eye drops. However, instead of getting better, the outer layer of the young woman's eye began to take on a cloudy appearance. A detailed examination by specialist doctors revealed that parasites from water had settled in McCasland's cornea. These microscopic organisms, called Acanthamoeba, had infiltrated under her lenses from seawater, damaging the tissue of her eye. According to data from the Cleveland Clinic, approximately 1,500 people in the U.S. contract this parasitic infection each year. Ninety percent of the cases are seen in contact lens users. For this reason, eye doctors warn lens wearers not to swim in the sea, take showers, or use hot tubs. McCasland, who lost her vision in her right eye, is now waiting for a $5,000 cornea transplant. Her treatment costs have already reached $62,000. The young woman, who works as a barista, had to quit her job because she lost depth perception and developed sensitivity to daylight. McCasland warns other lens users, saying, "I have been using lenses for 20 years, and I have always showered and swum with them. I wish I had known this risk. I could have prevented all this pain."
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