By Jim Montecalvo

Staff writer

jmontecalvo@observer-reporter.com

Most of us take our vision for granted. We go about our daily routines without giving it a second thought. There are too many other things to think about anyway.

But just ask Ryan Gregg how precious the gift of sight is. Part of his almost was taken away last spring.

When you consider the prognosis his doctors originally set forth, it's amazing that Gregg will be in the Washington & Jefferson College baseball team's lineup at some point during the Presidents' Athletic Conference tournament, which opens today at Ross Memorial Park.

Gregg first felt an irritation in his left eye in March, during the early part of the baseball season.

"In the beginning, it felt like I had something in my eye," said Gregg, a junior left fielder and designated hitter. "Then I woke up one morning and it was a sharp pain. I went to a doctor who didn't get the diagnosis right and it continued to get worse."

Finally, a trip to Eye & Ear Institute in Pittsburgh revealed a fungal infection in Gregg's left eye. It was determined that ReNu with MoistureLoc, which is a no-rub contact lens cleaning solution manufactured by Bausch & Lomb, had caused the infection.

Bausch & Lomb asked U.S. retailers to remove the product from their shelves temporarily last April, then permanently in May. According to the company's Web site, the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that MoistureLoc was disproportionately represented among the confirmed cases of the fungal infection Fusarium keratitis as compared with other Bausch & Lomb or competitive products.

About one month after the onset of his symptoms, Gregg had a cornea transplant and, initially, his doctors felt there was a chance he wouldn't regain vision in the eye.

"They were going to do the surgery just to keep my eye intact," Gregg said. "After the surgery, they told me they didn't know if I would see again. But my surgeon (Dr. Deepinder Dhaliwal) and Dr. (Viki) Christopoulos did a really good job."

When the infection started to affect Gregg last year, he kept playing despite less than 20/20 vision. Gregg started 11 games, in which he had a .457 batting average, but sat out 36 because of the infection.

"When he's 100 percent, he is arguably our best hitter," W&J coach Jeff Mountain said. "Of all the guys on the team, he's handled it better than anyone else could. One thing he's never done is feel sorry for himself. He doesn't make any excuses."

That attitude helped Gregg return to action this season. He has played in 30 games, starting 24, and has a .357 batting average with two home runs and 20 RBI.

"It feels great to be back," said Gregg, a Baldwin High School graduate. "I just hope I get my vision completely back."

Gregg doesn't seem bitter about the situation, but things still have been understandably difficult at times, even when it comes to baseball. It's harder for Gregg to recognize pitches than it used to be. On sunny days, however, it's not as much of a problem.

"He gets frustrated more than anything," Mountain said. "It's a day-to-day thing. He's playing with 20/100 vision and trying to do things he did with perfect vision."

Gregg's doctors have told him there is a chance his vision could be corrected to 20/20 with contact lenses after the 14 stitches in his left eye are removed this summer.

For now, Gregg is focused on helping the 26th-ranked Presidents (28-10) win the PAC championship and earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III tournament. W&J won the regular-season conference title and faces No. 4 seed Westminster (16-18) at 6 p.m. today in the first round of the double-elimination tournament.

"The only way we lose is if we beat ourselves," Gregg said. "Our pitching has been great the whole season, we've been getting clutch hits when we need them and playing good defense, and we've had great senior leadership."

Notes

W&J is hosting the PAC tournament for the third consecutive year and is the defending champion. ... Second-seeded Thomas More (24-9) takes on No. 3 Thiel (27-13) at 3 p.m. ... As of May 9, 2006, the CDC had compiled data on 98 confirmed cases of Fusarium keratitis. Of those, 93 people wore contact lenses and 59 reported using ReNu with MoistureLoc. All other products combined accounted for 35 cases.

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