Life can have its ups and downs. When one of the downs involves your child, a family that remains strong and committed to their child’s treatment is essential and inspiring.

The Semple Family had numerous irons in the fire back in 2003. “John and I had a new five day old baby, we were moving to a new home and suddenly our 20 month old baby girl was injured in an accident. Desiree saw a copper horse on a shelf and found a way to shake the stand…it slide off and hit her in the eye, rupturing her globe,” states Desiree’s mother Dinelle.

The injury left Desiree without her natural lens and with a large corneal scar with only a small central area of clear cornea through which she could potentially see. With the help of the Siskiyou County school system and the Yreka Host Lions Club, Desiree was referred to the Lions Eye Foundation. Her first appointment in San Francisco was nine months after the accident. With the goal at first being a second opinion, and the hope that a treatment plan could be put in place. Some of Desiree’s options included

years of rehabilitation and possibly additional surgery.

The combination of the injury itself, as well as the fact that the injury occurred at a young age, caused Desiree’s vision in her right eye to never fully develop, a condition known as amblyopia. Good vision requires that both eyes and the brain work together. If the brain fails to get clear input from both eyes, it may play favorites and process more visual information from the good eye, ignoring information from the eye with poorer vision. Patching of the good eye forces the brain to use the weaker eye.

Patching is never easy. Add to the mix the child’s young age and that she only had light perception in her injured eye…you have the recipe for frustration and failure. Desiree’s mother remembers, “At our first appointment, the specialist mentioned how severely the eye had been injured, and that future vision in that eye was questionable. That kind of news is hard for any parent to swallow, but as we were leaving another doctor came out and told us that we should try patching. After my husband and I talked, we decided to start patching for one month. Immediately we knew we would have to be committed. We already felt bad about the accident, and once we started patching, to see Desiree run into things and to curl up in a corner as if giving up was heart rendering.”

“We had a jump rope for Desiree to hold onto to navigate the hall and get past the hot stove. Then suddenly, three weeks into our commitment. We noticed she had dropped the rope and that she was running around a colorful toy. That’s when we knew she could see the toy. Soon she could tell us colors and how many fingers we were holding up when we would give her a little test. We continued to patch, per our doctors’ advice once Desiree started school. We were told that the brain needed this patching reinforcement to keep the gains in vision. This also was a commitment, as Desiree had to sit in front of the class…and still had very low vision when patched. Thru the school district, we were able to get a magnifying machine that increased the size of Desiree’s assignments. That really made a huge difference.”

“In addition to her large corneal scar, Desiree has also developed a misalignment of her eyes, known as strabismus,” stated Dr. Maya Ling, chief resident at the Lions eye clinic. Dr. Ling added, “The misalignment occurs because her injured eye has adapted over time to look through the small clear area of her cornea.” A corneal transplant surgery, as well as surgery to correct her eye misalignment, has both been discussed with Desiree and her parents. For now, they have decided to hold off on surgery. Having your natural lens removed at a young age increases your risk of developing high eye pressures, which may lead to glaucoma. Over the years, Desiree has slowly developed high pressure in her right eye, which is being treated with eye drops. A final note from the Semple family, “We have been going to the Lions eye clinic twice a year for ten years and the doctors are always very professional.” From Desiree and the Semple Family, a big thank you.

LEF Patient - Desiree Semple

Mission Statement: “The Lions Eye Foundation preserves and restores the gift of sight by providing free ophthalmic examinations, operations and medications to the less fortunate members of our community.”

The Lions Eye A Publication of the

Lions Eye Foundation of California-Nevada, Inc.Spring 2014

Left-Right Front: Paris, Dusten, Paige, DawsonBack: John (dad), Dinelle (mom), Cherelle, Desiree

PDG Rocky Lombardi was an active member of the Millbrae, CA Lions Club and also an honorary member of the Foster City, CA Lions Club. He was a contractor, and for many years he cleaned out his warehouse in S. San Francisco, erected a large tent in the parking area in front, and hosted a wine and hors d’oeuvres affair benefitting the Lions Eye Foundation. Each annual winetasting event netted between $15- 30,000. Due to Rocky’s failing health, the last event was held some years ago.Rocky was a staunch supporter of the LEF and served as an Advisor and Advisor Emeritus until his death last year. This year, we approached the Millbrae Lions Club, and his widow Jo, and got an enthusiastic OK to hold a Memorial wine

tasting in his name. PDG Art Pignati of the Millbrae Lions Club and our own Executive Director Emeritus Don Stanaway, who were close personal friends of Rocky, co-chaired the wine tasting held on March 30th.The turnout was great. More than 250 people filled the Mission Blue Center in Brisbane to capacity. There were six amateur wine makers serving. These included Rocky’s own wine and those of our current 4-C4 District Governor, Steve Picchi. Sixteen clubs served food in addition to the LEF itself (serving nuts and cheese) and Sylvia Pignati (who made several hundred cream puffs). The food offerings ranged from tri-tip sandwiches, to dim sum, to fresh roast beef and turkey, to various deserts.In a tradition originally started by the Foster City Lions Club, direct monetary contributions were received from several clubs. The three largest contributions were Foster City Lions Club ($7,150), Millbrae Lions Club ($2,500), and Menlo Park Host Lions Club ($2,000). The net, all earmarked for our Capital Campaign, was over $25,500.Special thanks go to the co-chairs, the Millbrae, Half Moon Bay, and Brisbane Lions Club and to all of the hard-working committee members and contributors who helped make this event a success. We are hoping that this was the First Memorial Wine Tasting and that many others will follow.

Rocky Lombardi Memorial Wine Tasting & Hors d’oeuvres Extravaganza

LEF Trustee Emeritus Sam Lerner, LEF Executive Director Emeritus and PDG Don Stanaway, LEF President Fred Sommer, LEF Executive Director and PDG John Schroeder, PDG Art Pignati (bending over), Foster City Lions Club President John Miller.

LEF Resident - Derek Huang, MD

Derek Huang, MD

Derek Huang, MD is a California native, original from Los Angeles. He attended Stanford University, where he majored in Biology and Economics. He then received a Master’s in Biology before heading to the University of Vermont where he earned his medical degree. He completed his internship in internal medicine at UCLA-Olive View in Los Angeles. He enjoys being back in the bay area and exploring all that San Francisco has to offer. He was drawn to California Pacific Medical Center for its diverse patient population and commitment in helping the underserved coupled with its multitude of opportunities abroad. Outside of medicine, Dr. Huang enjoys being a Lakers fan, traveling, finding new places to eat and exercising.

Trustee Jerry Price, a member of the Lions Eye Foundation Finance and Investment committee since 1996, became a Lions in 1982 when he joined the San Francisco Marina Lions. He eventually transferred to the San Francisco Host Lions and at the present time is a member of the Petaluma Host Lions. Over the years, Jerry has served Lions both at the club level and in his district and for his outstanding service to Lions Jerry has twice been awarded a Melvin Jones Fellow. He became an advisor on the Lions Eye Foundation, having been elected to the position in 1989, and in 1994, Jerry was elected Trustee.

Jerry, born in the Central Valley town of Fresno, grew up in Canyon, Ca. a small unincorporated area located in the Berkeley hills of Contra Costa County. Today Jerry and his wife Ping Zhao, who was born and raised in northern China, live in Petaluma while their daughter Jeffrie resides in Pacific

Grove. Jerry attended Bay Area schools eventually enrolling at San Jose State University where he received his BA degree in education in 1957. Jerry is employed by Raymond James Financial Services as a Stock Broker/Financial Advisor.

Jerry has, by his own account, lived a very interesting and active life. “I have been an avid sportsman my entire life, playing college football and was a member of the college ski team. I trained with the 1984 Olympic Yachting team and I love to climb mountains.” According to Jerry, he likes to climb really “big mountains” and has traveled the world fulfilling that quest, including places like Mt. Everest in the Himalayas of Nepal, Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and the Matterhorn, located in the Pennine Alps on the border of Switzerland and Italy. Today, Jerry states, “he is just a little too old for these big mountains” although, “I continue to love hiking the hills, paddling my kayak and practicing Tai Chi.”

Jerry, who has been awarded a Helen Keller five times, states that he “would like to see the Lions Eye Foundation be able to maintain the same, or higher, level of services far into the future. To insure the possibility that it can happen we need to continue to grow our endowment fund in case of any future changes to our service provider contracts.”

Acknowledgements and Thanks

Total number of Patients ------ 82New Referrals -------------------- 74Actual Dollars Spent --- $138,050Estimated Value ------ $1,924,920

LEVERAGE 13.9:1

Fast Facts• The most prevalent surgery was for cataracts • There were 25 surgeries for retina, cornea or strabismus problems that would have cost $25,000 - $35,000 each • The youngest patient was 7 years old; and the oldest was 82 years old • There were also 30 Laser Procedures and 122 Intravitreous injections and 337 Opthalmic procedures with an estimated value of $277,920 (incl. in $’s above)

Statistics and Leverage

January-March 2014

Jerry Price

Memorial Donations (at least $200)• Sam French • Charleen Gavette • Richard Quadri• Leeann Williamson • Sally Torrito Wong

New and Progressive Helen Keller Fellows• Gina Arcino • John Harper • Emmett Hein • Jim Meservy • Maggie Robeson

Capital or General Donations (at least $200)• Barbara Anger • Genneva Excelsior Lions Club• Mokelumne Hill Lions Club • Oildale Lions Club• Redwood City Sunrise Lions Club

General or Capital Campaign Donations (at least $1000)• Anonymous • Gravenstein Lions Club • Mark Paskvan• unknown (Las Vegas) • Melvin Wolzinger

Capital Campaign Don Stanaway Fellows • Charles Dunham • Pat Greene • Bob Kriese • Jim Noah • Bay Area Special Olympics Lions Club • San Francisco Chinatown Lions Club – ALL FIFTY ONE MEMBERS

New Don Stanaway Life Members:• Grace Chang • Elias Michel Mitri

Total Received: General Fund $23,390 Capital Campaign $24,790

Meet Jerry Price, Trustee

0 4 8

12 16 20 24 28 32

C6 C4 C3 C2 C1 A3 A2 A1 '46

Number of Patients by District from 10/1 to 12/31/2013

P.O. Box 7999San Francisco, California 94120www.lionseyeca-nv.org

415.600.3950

Officers & Key PersonnelPresident – Fred SommerFirst Vice President – Dennis NobleSecond Vice President – John PoseyTreasurer – Leila ChinnSecretary – Jan AhearnExecutive Director – John SchroederProgram Coordinator – Mark Paskvan

ContributorsEditor – Pat NealPhotography – Mike Rogalski, Norene Mirande, Fred SommerArticles – Mark PaskvanContributor – Fred SommerLayout & Production – Roger WeinerPrinting – Forté Press Corporation, BurlingameDistribution – Precise Mailing, S. San Francisco

For More Information: www.lionseyeca-nv.org

Letter Fron The Editor

Pat Neal

I want to personally thank all the Lions Clubs and Lions who helped make the Rocky Lombardi Wine tasting a success. They are too many to mention in this column but you all know who you are, and you know the hard work you put into making this event so successful. A special thank you to Rocky’s wife, Jo Lombardi, for so generously allowing this event to go forward in Rocky’s name.

Please put this date on your calendar. On Saturday July 19, 2014 the Trustee and Advisors of the Lions Eye Foundation will be holding their club member appreciation meeting in San Francisco. If you have never been to one of these meetings, you should make every effort to attend. There are always interesting programs by the residents of the Ophthalmology Department, a great lunch with additional patient case studies by our residents, and after lunch a tour of the LEF clinic. I promise you, you will come away with a better understanding of some of the issues faced by patients we are sending to the

LEF clinic. If you have gone in the past, you already know what an interesting, informative and fun day this will be. If you want more information, please ask your trustee and advisors in your district. Or check out our website at lionseyefoundation.com

And finally, thank you John Schroeder, Executive Director of the Lions Eye Foundation, for sending out the link (http://bit.ly/1pLtjpn) for the time lapse demolition of the Cathedral Hill Hotel (formerly the Jack Tar). This location will be the site of the new CPMC’s Van Ness and Geary Street Campus. Thanks again John, I found it very interesting.

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