OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- As the world watched Warriors Star Steph Curry shoot his seemingly effortless 3-pointers, little did anyone know he was squinting and suffering from a disease that affected his vision called keratoconus.Curry talked about his diagnoses at a press conference as coach Steve Kerr jokingly played "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash in the background on his phone.But with one in every 2,000 people in the United States suffering from keratoconus, it's hardly anything to joke about.Tammy Lee, a traffic producer at ABC7 News, knows how crippling this genetic disease can be. She presses her head to a computer monitor and squints. "I could have my forehead practically on the screen, squinting to see all the letters. I would enlarge the screen 250-percent. In two years I went from having no major vision problems to not being able to see at all. "During these two years, Lee saw multiple doctors, all who gave her different prescriptions or offered expensive surgery that wasn't FDA approved. "I lost that sense of independence of living my life the way I wanted to live it. I'm not going to lie, I did go through a depression. "It wasn't until the fifth doctor diagnosed Lee with keratoconus-- a thinning of the cornea which then bends the cornea into an irregular cone shape and causes a rapid degenerative astigmatism.While Curry was still able to shoot 3-pointers with his condition which Dr. Maanasa Indrawm, assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of California San Francisco, says was most likely caught early-- left untreated can have dire consequences. "If the cornea becomes so thin and so progressed it can actually perforate which means it can result in blindness."Dr. Indaram says most people discover they have Keratoconus in their early 20's but can be difficult to diagnose-- so awareness is crucial. "Having prescriptions that frequently change...light sensitivity, glare and halos, all of these things are sort of non-specific and hard to pinpoint. "While there is an FDA approved procedure called "crosslinking" available for the most severe cases, many instances can be corrected with special contact lenses, which is what Lee ultimately did. The hard lenses were challenging to get used to at first, the payoff to have drastically improved vision was well worth it. She has this advice to anyone suffering from seemingly common vision problems. "Be persistent and be your own advocate. Don't' go with just the first thing people say."<doc-sep>Now it's getting darker outside what better picture to post!Night time through my eyes & what I see!#KC #Keratoconus pic.twitter.com/PwhPT7eQG0 — Stephanie Slater MBE (@StephESlater) November 4, 2015 Long story short. I have a disease called keritikonis. I'm half blind. Had a cornea transplant about 6 Years ago and now my left eye — 360 (@3ree6ixty) July 18, 2012 SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Stephen Curry's revelation that he as dealing with the degenerative eye disease, Keratoconus, shocked basketball fans. The disease, which causes the cornea to thin and change shape, is rare but several other famous people have dealt with the same issue.Here's a list from the Keratoconus group The American actor known for his roles in "Homeland" and "The Princess Bride" was diagnosed with the disease in 1982. In a statement Patinkin said he wore hard contacts for 15 years before he was forced to undergo cornea transplant surgery in 1997. "It was 100 percent successful. Thanks to the generosity of a family who donated their child's corneas to the eye bank I was the lucky recipient of one of the child's corneas. I will say a prayer for this child every day of my life for as long as I live," wrote in a statement.The professional baseball player with MLB's Tampa Bay Rays was diagnosed with the condition in 2008. He underwent non-invasive treatment in 2011 while with the St. Louis Cardinals. According to a report in Bleacher Report the procedure use ultraviolet light and a vitamin application to stabilize the degenerative condition. After getting treatment, Pham went on to blossom and now the starting left fielder for the Rays.The American bobsledder and Olympic gold medalist was diagnosed with the disease in 2002. He underwent a procedure to correct the degenerative disease and was able to restore his vision from 20-500 to 20-20. After that he went on to win the World Cup title with his four-man team in 2010 and then won gold in the 2010 Whistler Winter Olympics. He talked about his struggle with the disease in is autobiography entitled "But Now I See: My Journey from Blindness to Olympic Gold. "The British paraolympic swimmer said she was diagnosed in 2008. She was able to get treatment to preserve the cornea of one of her eyes, but required a transplant for her other eye. It was successful and she's been able to continue to compete.The Australian hip-hop artist known as "3ree6ixty" was diagnosed with the disease and had to undergo a cornea on both of his eyes. He tweeted about it back in 2012The American hip-hop artist revealed he had the disease on Instagram back in 2015. In his post he revealed it's caused him to be blind in his left eye and lose his vision in his right eye. He recieved treatment to prevent the disease from getting worse.<doc-sep>Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry recently got contact lenses as a means to solve his recent shooting slump. Curry also revealed that he has been dealing with astigmatism his entire career. The two-time MVP recently gave an update about his condition: A reporter asked Stephen Curry about his “eye disease” and he busted out laughing then gave an update about his condition. pic.twitter.com/2ech9UkCQc — Logan Murdock (@loganmmurdock) April 4, 2019 It’s crazy that the greatest shooter in the history of the NBA has been dealing with eye problems since his arrival in the league. Aside from his MVP honors, Curry has already been a three-time champion and a multiple time All-Star. Curry got the contact lenses nine games ago. Since then, he has been shooting 48.7% from behind the arc and has made at least five 3-pointers in every game during that span. If the contact lenses have indeed helped Curry’s vision, then it should send a chilling message to the rest of the league. The Warriors are already the best team in the Western Conference this season, and they will be more lethal now that there has been a solution to Steph’s eye condition. It is a welcome sight for the Dubs, who are aiming to win their third straight title by the end of this season. Perfect timing for Curry to find a solution to this problem, with the playoffs just a week away.<doc-sep>EMBED >More News Videos As the world watched Warriors Star Steph Curry shoot his seemingly effortless 3-pointers, little did anyone know he was squinting and suffering from a disease that affected his vision. OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, who is considered one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history, has struggled with an astigmatism and not been able to see clearly his entire career. He's been shooting all those three-pointers with blurry vision. How insane is that? ?Curry suffers from a cornea condition called Keratoconus, a disease where the cornea thins over time and begins to change from its natural circular shape to one similar to a cone. The cone shape deflects light as it enters the eye and causes blurred vision.While regular vision can be corrected with glasses, they are ineffective for people with Keratoconus because of the irregular, cone shape of the cornea. Moderate Keratoconus can be corrected with a special type of contact lens.Keratoconus will progressively get worse as the cornea thins, and some people end up needing corneal transplant surgery or corneal collagen cross-linking if their condition is severe.Not to worry, Warriors fans, Curry decided to give contacts a try after noticing a slight decline in his numbers. In February, Curry made only 51 of 135 three-point attempts (.378 percent). He shot .411 last season in the month of February.Curry's contacts seem to fix the problem and allow him to see clearly now.<doc-sep>
Warriors star Steph Curry saw a slight decline in his shooting last month and addressed the problem by starting to wear contacts. Curry, 31, didn't need corrective lenses due to his age or a sudden change in his eyesight. It turns out that Curry has suffered from a cornea condition called Keratoconus for all of his life, according to The Athletic's Marcus Thompson II. Keratoconus is a disease where the cornea thins over time and begins to change from its natural circular shape to one similar to a cone. Because of it, the cone shape deflects light as it enters the eye and causes blurred vision. "I started wearing contacts," Curry said. "It’s like the whole world has opened up." Before getting his contact lenses, Curry was starting to see a three-point shooting slump. During the month of February, Curry made only 51 of 135 three-point attempts (.378%). He shot .411 last season in the month of February. The Warriors star saw his numbers increase in March by shooting .433% and going on a nine-game streak through Tuesday's win over the Nuggets where he made at least five threes per game. He shot 56 of 109 attempts during that span. Curry admitted that he should wear glasses but doesn't and got so used to squinting that it became "normal." He finally decided to give contacts a try after seeing a decline in his numbers. His Keratoconus will progessively get worse as his cornea thins, and some people end up needing corneal transplant surgery or corneal collagen cross-linking if their condition is severe. Curry's contacts seem to fix the problem for him and allow him to see clearly now.