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The short answer is: To protect his eyes them from extreme dryness. But to just say that wouldn’t give you a clear picture of what he was up against.
Ironically, for the first eight months following the attack, Ryan didn’t open his eyes… after they did open then they never shut. Worse yet, he rarely blinked.
The photo (above) shows Ryan hours after he had surgeryAfter his eyes opened, but before having them stitched partially closed, his eye care was non-stop… never more than two hours without some form of treatment. In addition, Ryan wore goggles around the clock to trap in the little moisture (tears) he could produce.
Despite every effort he became prone to eye irritations and infections. These were beginning to scar his eyes and impede upon his pupils.
This “overexposure” leads to scratches on the cornea and chronic, recurring eye infection. We’re not sure how much detail he can see, but we simply had to make a choice: 1) Allow him as much visual opportunity as possible, but risk his eyes “melting” and being removed, or 2) have them fully or partially closed and protect his eyes in case he miraculously recovers to some degree.
What we now consider the right decision, Ryan’s eyelids were sutured closed — about 75% — in a surgical procedure called a tarsorrhaphy. The good news is, this is entirely reversible. The bad news is, Ryan will need corneal replacement on both eyes.
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