Monday, September 20, 2010

Man 'worms' his way onto Animal Planet show Doctors use a laser to kill a worm that got into the eye of Bellevue native John Matthews. TELEGRAPH HERALD

The "yuck" factor of John Matthews' story earned him an episode on a national cable TV show.

It all started last December when Matthews noticed two spots obscuring vision in his left eye. The Bellevue, Iowa, native who now lives in Cedar Rapids was tested by several vision specialists before being sent to the ophthalmology department at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

After undergoing more tests there, doctors figured out his unusual problem.

"A group of them came in and told me, 'You've got a worm in your eye,'" he said.

Doctors rushed Matthews into a treatment room and shot a laser into his left eyeball to kill the worm.

"I could see it from behind, moving, trying to dodge the laser," he said.

It took a second round of laser blasts to kill the critter. Matthews' body is absorbing the worm's remains, but the damage it did to his retina is permanent.

Doctors figured Matthews picked up the worm one of two ways.

"It could have been hookworm I might have picked up when we were in Mexico or it could have been raccoon roundworm that I could have gotten turkey hunting," he said.

Since Matthews enjoys watching the Animal Planet network show, "Monsters Inside Me," he called the show's producers, who found his story intriguing. A film crew came to Iowa to tape his segment of the program, "Shape Shifters."

Surprise makeover

A Dubuque woman was ambushed Friday in New York City.

Kelly Cooper, a 42-year-old Hospice nurse, was one of two women selected to participate in the Plaza Ambush Makeover on the "Today" show on NBC.

"I was totally unprepared," said Cooper, who went to New York to visit family for the weekend. "We went to the show on the spur of the moment because my cousin wanted to see Al Roker. It was pouring rain."

Hair colorist to the stars, Louis Licari, and Jill Martin, reporter for the New York Knicks and contributor to the "Today" show on fashion trends and entertainment stories, picked Cooper and another woman for the makeover.

Cooper has six children, ranging in age from 14 to 25.

"I do need a little pampering," Cooper said before her makeover. "I'm very excited for this."

Cooper's makeover involved a new hairstyle and coloring, a new outfit and jewelry and some new makeup. For two hours, six to seven people worked on her, she said.

"It was just amazing," Cooper said. "It was neat to share the experience with another person."