Support Group
What is Fuchs’ Friends®?
The Fuchs’ Friends international online support group is a place of support and information for people with all types of Corneal Dystrophy. It’s hosted on a platform called, Groups.io.
It is an outreach project of The Corneal Dystrophy Foundation. We are here to provide Education and Support regarding Corneal Dystrophies. We help people who, when diagnosed, are sent on an emotional roller coaster ride caused by shock of the diagnoses and fear of the unknown future of their vision.
New Members?
Current Members?
History
Fuchs Friends was founded in 2000 when two people who suffered from Fuchs’ Corneal Dystrophy met. They decided to start a support group at a new site that eventually became Yahoo Groups. The group grew quickly and within a few years expanded to over 1000 active members.
It currently has approximately 3300 active members and has archived over 170,000 individual messages in which members posted questions and others answered (replied) based on their own experience and knowledge. The process continues and newer members eventually become the experienced ones and “pay it forward” by providing their acquired knowledge and experience to those who follow.
Since its’ inception in 2000, Fuchs Friends has helped over 10,000 people and continues to expand it’s body of knowledge about this disease which if left untreated, will eventually case blindness.
Fuchs Friends was the first patient advocacy operated online support group for Corneal Dystrophy sufferers and has the longest continuous history of operation and the largest population of members with these diseases.
Benefits of joining Fuchs’ Friends
- It’s a free online group!
- Over 3300+ members from all over the world
- A safe place to access information, support and facts
- Access to our Patient Recommended Specialist directory
- NVDA screen reader compatible for low vision and blind persons
- Ability to easily search for answers via keywords and phrases
- Answers received are permanet and accessible via archives
- Members adhere to strict terms and conditions
Join Fuchs’ Friends
New Members: Please fill out and submit the application below.
Current Members: If you are a current member please do not fill out this form. For changes in your membership or other needs, you must write to the message board moderator.
Questions? Contact us
Please read before you fill out the form (click to open)
- Please don’t submit information with CAPS lock on.
- We perform address and other checks on prospective members randomly. If your information is found to not be accurate you may lose your membership in this group.
- Please do not use business information on this form.
- We shall hold your name, street address, telephone number and email address in strictest confidence.
- Completion and submission of this form to our web site implicitly gives us your permission to utilize your other information,
such as gender, age, location to develop demographics about Corneal Dystrophy. - We do not sell or otherwise provide personal information such as names or specific locations to other organizations.
- Postal and/or email address may be used to send you important information.
- Please ensure that you complete all fields completely and accurately.
- Each application is reviewed by a person who may perform validity checks on your information.
- Deliberately erroneous or incomplete information will affect your ability to reapply. We will not inform you if a check shows the provided info is incorrect.
Bob was a remarkable individual. From the first time I met him, I was struck by his humility and sense of humor, but that easy graciousness and kindness belied a resolve and ambition that was uncommon. Bob leveraged his background in tech to create an online community that became a beacon of information, support, and hope for so many. As the needs of the community grew, you and Bob added more elements — an annual patient meetup, then a nonprofit foundation, then a scientific meeting. What had started as a small “side project” grew to become a living and ever-growing multifaceted charitable and educational enterprise, enabled by the energy, vision, and kindness of the two of you — a talented super duo who did not know the meaning of the word “retirement.”
Pearl T. and Samuel J. Kimura Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology, Vice Chair, Surgical Services, Director, Cornea Service, USCF Dept. of Ophthalmology