Sixteen-year-old Cooper Boike loves to play basketball. Standing tall at 6’3, he plays both point guard and center positions for Genessee Christian High School in Burton, located just outside of Flint.
In 2024 he had his breakout year and even led his team to their district championship game.
During one of the playoff games, Cooper received a cut in his eye.
“It was a 12-millimeter cut,” shares his mom, Jen Boike. “We didn’t know how bad it was, but we went to the eye doctor, and they gave him medicine to heal it.”
After three weeks and no healing, they went back and ran more tests. They discovered he had a parasite in his eye from the scratch.
The family went to Kellogg Center in Ann Arbor for his care. At first, they tried medication to push the parasite out, but that led to pain and headaches, keeping Cooper out of school for almost a month. The parasite was perforating his cornea. He was going to need a cornea transplant.
“For the first six months, it was foggy, but I could pretty much see,” said Cooper. “It made me light sensitive which was hard because I feel like I’m always outside. The last three months before my surgery, I couldn’t see anything out of that eye. Three weeks before surgery, I couldn’t see any movement or light.”
For a teenager who loved being active and playing basketball, losing his sight was devastating. Before the scratch, Cooper dedicated himself to practicing his shot. He would spend his days in the gym. Suddenly, he couldn’t see the hoop. He couldn’t see if his teammate was throwing him the ball.
“It was affecting him to the point where he didn’t even have the same personality,” said Jen. “I was so worried about him and his mental health. The doctors are amazing at Kellogg, but they weren’t even sure what was going to happen to his sight. It was just so scary.”
After Cooper’s surgery, he experienced immediate relief. He went to basketball practice the very next day, just to sit in and support his team.
“I actually felt like a burden was off of me,” he said. “My whole body was feeling the weight of that parasite. I hadn’t been able to see for a month and a half. Getting that first bit of sight was amazing.”
Throughout the process, Cooper had a strong support team around him. Not only from his own family, but his basketball family.
“He would get constant messages from his coaches and team just rallying around him,” said Jen. “They prayed for him and just wanted to help. It really did impact a lot of people, I feel. Everyone was just so kind.”
Due to the condition of Cooper’s eye during the surgery, his current transplant is temporary. He will receive another surgery this summer that will help improve his sight. He also hopes it improves his shot.
While the Boike family wasn’t familiar with organ, eye and tissue donation prior to Cooper’s transplant, today they are all incredibly grateful for the gift Cooper received.
Jen said. “Its so important for people to donate. Giving someone a chance at being healthier is amazing. I’m so thankful that someone was able to donate. Getting that smile and Cooper’s laugh back, it was huge.”
Gift of Life Michigan works closely with إيفرسايت, a global nonprofit eye bank in Ann Arbor, to promote the power of organ, eye and tissue donation. Eversight recovers eyes and corneas for transplantation and research, helping restore sight to thousands of patients who suffered from corneas damaged by injury or illness. To help save or heal a life, join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry by visiting golm.org/signup.
