Who is Matthew Goodwin?

If you ask John Spencer this question, no doubt he'll break into a huge smile and tell you the heart-warming story of how Matthew got back his vision. As many of you already know, John (and his wife, Anne, too) is an active participant in numerous charitable organizations, not the least of which is the Lions Club of Basalt Colorado. Matthew was a local boy who worked at Snowmass Village as a cook in a pizza place. His vision started deteriorating around the age of 14, and after a few misdiagnoses, doctors told him he had Keratoconus, a condition requiring corneal transplants within a decade or total blindness would result; this was in 1997.

Following the MDs' suggestions, the family opted to wait as long as possible until the surgery had advanced, offering the greatest chances of success. Skip ahead until October, 2008, and enter the Basalt Lions Club. One of the members spoke of Matthew's problems, vision and others: no insurance, uninsurable, no available government assistance, and no funds to pay for surgeries in the neighborhood of $15,000 per eye. The local Lions Club, whose main focus is eyesight, jumped at the chance to help --- enter John Spencer. John, a past district governor and a Lion for more than 35 years, had also spent 13 years as a trustee of the Rocky Mtn Lions Eye Institute, so he knew immediately what to do and who to contact. The eye bank provided donor tissue for free; matched the funds raised by the Basalt Lions; and helped John locate a surgeon willing to perform the transplant.

On July 21, 2009, less than 8 months later, Matthew received his first corneal transplant, with no problems and amazing success. His second transplant was done November 9 ---- he now has 20/20 vision in both eyes.

It's an amazing and heart-warming story. Be sure to tell John how proud you are of his work with the Lions, especially on Matthew's behalf.