Face to Face with Hans

“I had surgery on my eye as a child and again later, while I was in college, due to a detached retina. I have Stickler syndrome. Eventually, I developed a shrunken eye, and my pupil became increasingly whiter.”

My wife didn’t like putting drops in my eye, so I decided, “Just take it out.” I didn’t feel attached to that eye—it had always been a bad eye.

“The hardest part for me is that my grandchildren are also at risk of developing eye problems. I’ve told my son before that I might not have had children if I’d known how prevalent these problems are in our family. But despite everything, I think life is absolutely worth living.”