Kellogg care inspires gift to vision research

When Chase Johansson was three days old, his mother took him to the doctor for a routine newborn check-in. The visit quickly became serious when the doctor noticed something unusual about his left eye.  

The family was referred to the W.K. Kellogg Eye Center, marking the beginning of a long journey that would preserve Johansson’s sight, influence his academic path, and eventually inspire his family to give back.

Dedicated care for a rare diagnosis

At Kellogg, the family met Monte Del Monte, M.D., now Professor Emeritus of Ophthalmology, and Chase was diagnosed with multiple rare congenital eye conditions, including microphthalmia, or an underdeveloped eye; persistent fetal vasculature, where fetal blood vessels that normally disappear before birth remain in the eye; and congenital cataracts.

Del Monte explained that because of these congenital issues, Chase didn’t have much vision in his left eye. If he were to have any chance of gaining vision, he would have to start treatment immediately, so he had his first surgery at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital when he was three weeks old.

When adults have cataract surgery, the cloudy lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens. Because Chase’s eye would be growing for many years, his care team did not recommend a permanent artificial lens. Instead, he was fitted with a specialized prosthetic contact lens that his mom would have to regularly insert, remove, and clean.

Chase’s mom was taught how to insert and remove his lens, a challenging task with a newborn. She also had to give Chase daily eye drops and patch his stronger right eye for hours to encourage his left eye to develop. He needed another surgery on his pupil at six months old and got glasses at one-and-a-half years old.

The Kellogg team adapted visual tests for Chase’s young age, asking him to identify simple pictures. Slowly, the family began to see signs that the hard work was paying off.

The family continued following Del Monte’s protocol and had to overcome some complications with an eye muscle problem and glaucoma, but with careful, dedicated care, Chase’s vision continued to improve. The family also began to work with Adam Jacobson, M.D., Associate Professor of Ophthalmology.

“Whatever they said, we tried to do it exactly because I wanted so badly for Chase to have eyesight,” says his mom. “We did everything they said and kept doing it.”

Chase remembers how as he got a little older, his mom tried to make his long appointments, which involved many specialists and tests, fun.

They would visit the cafe and the fish aquarium — years later, in Chase’s U-M application essay, he would describe how he cataloged the fish — and also built relationships with the physicians, clinic staff, and optical shop staff. These connections helped the family feel at home at Kellogg and also helped build Chase’s lifelong connection to U-M.

Gratitude inspires generosity

A few years ago, when Chase was in high school, he had an opportunity to tour Prasov’s lab. 

“That was a great opportunity for me to see what my future career could look like,” says Chase. “I’ve always been interested in science in general, and that started to narrow as I took high school classes in biology. My experience at Kellogg has definitely steered me a bit toward the medical field, especially because of the nature of my condition being a rare, multifactorial issue that required a lot of study.”

The family also learned about the Wadhams Family Center for Children’s Vision, founded through a gift from Timothy and Laurie Wadhams in 2024 to improve outcomes for children with a wide range of eye disorders, through discussions with Jacobson and Kellogg staff.  

Chase’s mom was touched by what she heard and wanted to help.

The family’s gift to the newly established Wadhams Family Children’s Vision Fund caught the attention of Shae Maier, Assistant Director of Development for the W.K. Kellogg Eye Center. 

“We were very curious because the fund was new and there hadn’t been a lot of outreach to let people know about it yet,” Maier says. “So I reached out to Chase’s family to learn more.”

“Shae told us we made one of the first donations to the fund,” says Chase’s mom, “and she wanted to learn what brought us to it, which I thought was so personal and fun. We just really hit it off and instantly clicked.”

A full-circle path to U-M

Chase is now an undergraduate student studying biology at U-M, and with his glasses and a specialized contact lens, his vision has improved tremendously, a remarkable outcome made possible by the exceptional care he received from both his mom and the Kellogg team. He is also spending the summer working in the lab of Lev Prasov, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Associate Professor of Human Genetics.

“The project I’m working on is focused on corneal disease,” Chase says. “I’ve gotten to test patient samples and amplify the genes to see if they have specific mutations that are associated with genetic diseases, which has been really interesting. Developing gene therapy is their goal. It’s very full circle that I’m now helping out with that.”

Almost 20 years after his first visit to Kellogg, not only is Chase seeing the results of his own extraordinary care, but he is contributing to new treatments for others. His work, along with his family’s gift to the Wadhams Center, reflects their hope that more children and families will have access to sight-saving care and new possibilities.

Your generosity makes a difference

Please make a gift to the Wadhams Family Children's Vision Fund to support patient-centered care for children who have eye disorders and drive research that uncovers genetic origins, expands understanding, and leads to new treatments for eye disease. To learn more about how you can support the W.K. Kellogg Eye Center, contact the Kellogg development team at [email protected].

About the Look to Michigan campaign

This gift is part of Michigan Medicine’s Look to Michigan fundraising campaign, which aims to create transformative answers to health care’s biggest challenges for the benefit of people in our state and beyond. Building on 175 years of leadership in medicine and as part of the University of Michigan’s Look to Michigan strategic framework for impact, we are breaking new ground in patient care, research, medical and graduate education, health care facilities, and health advancement and community engagement. Together, we can improve and save lives. For more information, visit michiganmedicine.org/giving/look-to-michigan.