An Aberdeen nurse has spoken of how laser eye surgery has changed her life.
Lisa Stephen, a sexual health nurse from Cove Bay, Aberdeen, is finally experiencing life without glasses.
The 26-year-old received free laser eye surgery from Optical Express.
Lisa has worn glasses since the age of eight, reaching a strong prescription of -3.75 in both eyes.
Short-sightedness affected her everyday life for more than a decade, with the inconvenience of glasses and discomfort of contact lenses becoming a burden.
The nature of Lisa’s work as a sexual health nurse, including house visits to patients and check-ups on newborn babies, meant that failing vision severely affected her confidence. Being forced to wear glasses or contact lenses throughout 12-hour long shifts also caused Lisa’s eyes to dry up and induced headaches.
Lisa would wear contact lenses when socialising with friends but found it difficult to remove them after long periods of time.
Last year, she went on holiday to Ibiza which was made extremely stressful due to the constant pressure on her eyesight.
Frustrated with the problems her eyesight brought to both her personal and professional life, Lisa signed up for the Optical Express Thanks a Million campaign and was given free laser eye surgery.
She said: “I can’t believe it, my vision is 20:20 now. It’s strange getting used to looking at myself in the mirror without glasses because it’s all I’ve ever known.”
The surgery was gifted to the dedicated nurse as part the Optical Express Thanks a Million campaign, which rewards NHS and emergency service workers with free laser eye surgery.
Before receiving the surgery, Lisa’s annual glasses renewal and contact lens subscription would set her back more than £600. She was due to upgrade her glasses two weeks after she underwent surgery earlier this year.
David Moulsdale, Optical Express, chairman and CEO said: “New figures from Optical Express, suggest that more than 750 million plastic lenses are being flushed down the drain or put in landfill every year.
Laser eye surgery is an alternative option to vastly reduce waste caused by these single-use plastics.
“The Thanks a Million campaign aims to pay our respects to the most heroic members of our society through the gift of sight.”
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