DAVID GABLE, 80 years young, shares his Keratoconus story with us, in the hope of inspiring others, and getting across the message that having KC is not the end of the world, albeit a challenge. David works with the UK’s only keratoconus charity- Keratoconus Group UK, and is a long time member of Keratoconus GB.

“I wish to give others encouragement that having KC is not disastrous!” says David.

“I am now 80 and was diagnosed with keratoconus in 1978. I was fitted with and used hard contact lenses from 1965 (not gas permeable in those days) until my right eye required a full depth corneal graft in 1987.

My left eye had keratoconus too but nowhere near as bad (which is very common with KC). Rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses were fitted for both eyes & were successful for 19 years (and I wore glasses on top to help my vision) – however unfortunately my graft clouded over in 2008 & steroids could not save it. and in 2009 I had a second corneal transplant, plus a cataract operation.

The Trouble With Lenses

I had great difficulty at that time in finding suitable contact lens to fit. My Hospital tried them all – soft, scleral & piggyback lenses without success, until another RGP finally worked. Now that both eyes also have an intraocular lens after another cataract op in my left eye, my distance vision is not far off 20/20 – so no need for glasses for distance or for reading, which is a great outcome.

My left eye is good for both (but not perfect) for distance AND close-up. My right eye, with a contact lens is good for distance only. All in all a very satisfactory outcome with excellent Hospital support throughout.

Hope this helps for some of you who might be finding the whole process daunting! I’ve also just finished chemotherapy for Lymphoma cancer, an additional challenge in itself.

My message to everyone with keratoconus is…..Keep persevering & explaining keratoconus to all hospital departments that you may visit!

David Gable, March 2026

Thank you David and good luck with everything!