Personal Statement
Helen Theresa Gelhot, M.D.
My Oprah Winfrey Show appearance featured my recovery from blindness as a Modern Medical Miracle. The clergy was called when my blood pressure bottomed out during my near-death struggle with Stevens- Johnson Syndrome (SJS). Others held out little hope for survival, but I was just one week into my PGY-2 at Vanderbilt, livid and determined not to be “the dying patient”. Yes, I survived, now pain-free after years of living in darkness with exquisite corneal pain. High-tech scleral lenses have restored my vision to 20/30. Local and international media have detailed my long battle and recovery.

My dream was interrupted, but not destroyed by SJS. Being on the other side of the bedrail gave me insight far beyond years of training.