A woman from Toledo, Ohio, who waited years to become a mom, thought she was entering one of the happiest chapters of her life. Instead, an unexpected health battle was about to unfold. Debby Erney and her husband Bob finally stood before a judge in 2001 and officially adopted two sisters, Katie and Patty, who had become part of their family as infants.
"The moment the judge declared us to be their parents, and them to be our children, was the most-remarkable experience," Debby, now 68, told Newsweek. "It was a huge milestone." But, within weeks of welcoming their daughters, Debby woke up one morning and barely recognized the face staring back at her. Her eyes appeared to bulge dramatically, her face was swollen and bruised-looking, and her facial bones seemed unusually prominent.
"I thought maybe I’d had an allergic reaction to a bug bite or something," Debby said. "But it wasn't getting better throughout the day." The changes were so severe that, when Debby went to see her primary care physician, people she knew in the waiting room didn't recognize her. Neither did her doctor initially.
Blood work revealed Graves' disease, an autoimmune condition that causes the thyroid gland to become overactive. Debby was referred to an ophthalmologist, who quickly became concerned about the state of her eyes. By then, her vision was deteriorating rapidly.
"The ophthalmologist did eye measurements and attempted to refract my eyes to ease my double vision by providing me [with] prism lenses," Debby said. "Then he gave me a referral to an oculoplastic surgeon who was a specialist in thyroid eye disease." Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) is a rare autoimmune condition associated with Graves' disease. Symptoms can include bulging eyes, double vision, pain, light sensitivity and, in severe cases, vision loss.
According to the American Thyroid Association (ATA), while about one-third of people with Graves’ disease develop some eye symptoms, only a small proportion—around 5 percent—develop moderate-to-severe disease that can threaten vision. Most cases are mild, but severe TED may require more intensive treatment, including steroids, radiation or surgery. Treatment options have expanded in recent years with teprotumumab (Tepezza), an intravenous medication targeting the underlying disease pathway that was approved by the U.S.
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