For years, she was one of only three people to make custom eye prostheses in northern Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is known for many things, being a city of steel and hockey mainly, but in the early 80’s Sault Ste. Marie had another unique market “eye prostheses” or artificial eyes. Gerry Kiley began working in the early 1960s as an assistant to optometrist Gordon Cunningham.
He was later encouraged by eye surgeon Dr. Robert Stevenson to set up his own consultation. To learn his trade he studied at what was then known as Ryerson University in Toronto.
In 1982 Gerry Kiley was one of three opticians in northern Ontario who adapted to artificial eyes, the other two were located in Sudbury. He worked at the Group Health Center and began his internship there in the late 1970s.
Since most people who needed a prosthesis suffered a traumatic injury, Kiley believed it was necessary to create a level of confidence for her line of work. Kiley would spend at least 20 minutes on a date just to get to know her patient.
His first step was to create an eye mold from the orbit of the eye itself. An iris button was then painted and matched the patient’s existing eye as closely as possible. The next step was to decorate the eye by threading red fabric into the white section of the prosthesis to give it the appearance of veins.
Once everything was in place, Kiley poured liquid methacrylate into her eye to fix everything. Finally, a clear acrylic resin was applied to create a “perfect gloss”.
The whole process took up to three weeks to complete and Kiley created the whole eye internally, except for some coloring work that had to be done in Toronto. The total cost of an artificial eye was approximately $ 325 as of 1982 and any reconstruction work cost $ 110.
Realizing that not everyone who needs a prosthesis can afford it, Kiley said organizations such as Algoma District Social and Family Services, Workman’s Compensation Board and Welfare Canada could provide funding to those who could not afford it. -ho.
The personal care of artificial eyes according to Kiley was quite easy because the constant flow of tears cleanses them. The only reason needed to clean the eye was if someone was exposed to a dusty or smoky environment, however, a little warm water and a little soap would do the job.
For many people, this process would cause great insecurity about the use of an artificial eye, but Gerry Kiley’s relaxed and pleasing approach, as well as the realistic appearance of the prosthetic eyes, allowed them more freedom.
By 1982 Kiley had created 75 artificial eyes and her love for her work and helping people propelled her forward.