Our patients

and how their lives have changed following surgery

Luke Wheeler

I'm not sure if I will ever get used to waking up in the morning and being able to see.

For the previous six years the first thing I did every morning was insert my large rigid skeral contact lenses, without these I couldn't even see what time it was even when holding my alarm clock inches from my eye.

Now two months after the transplant I can see that same alarm clock from the other side of the room, it is incredible.

In 2004 I was diagnosed with keratoconus and over the next few years the condition became increasingly advanced in both eyes, I struggled on but by 2010 my eyesight had deteriorated so much that the only real option was a cornea transplant.

After meeting a number of eye specialists I decided that Mr. Daya at the centre of sight was the best option, I was so impressed I signed the consent forms during our first consultation and was contacted shortly afterwards and was informed the transplant could take place the same week.

The day of the operation I arrived at the hospital in East Grinstead in the morning and all the staff made me feel very at ease from the moment I arrived. The actual operation was painless and I left the hospital that afternoon, by the following day when the bandages were removed I could already notice a real improvement in my vision.

For a few days after the operation my eye was quite sore and very sensitive to daylight it also occasionally streamed with water although I was amazed at how little pain I felt during the operation and initial healing process. Over the next few weeks my eyesight continued to improve and now only eight weeks after the operation although not perfect my sight has improved so much that already it is changing my life for the better and I can now plan for my future for the first time in years.

The whole process from the initial consultation to the operation and the after care has been first class and I am looking forward to having my other eye done next year. In summary I would highly recommend the centre of sight for anyone considering a cornea transplant in the future.

Beryl Johns

Four years ago I lost the sight totally in my right eye following an infection. The sight in my left eye was deteriorating quickly. Six months ago sight was restored in my right. Two months ago sight was restored in my left eye and is still improving. Now my joy is seeing my 6 months great grandchild smile and also being able to read the newspaper article about an exhibition of my paintings which my care home arranged for me. It was lovely to be able to see again the pictures I painted over the years displayed, and several sold!

Jill Rodgers

I started wearing glasses because of shortsightedness when at school studying for my A-levels. I managed with glasses quite well, but was then diagnosed with keratoconus in 1995, and since then have been wearing hard contact lenses.

I took to wearing lenses like a duck to water, but after about 5 years the coning in my corneas started to really steepen, with my left eye being particularly bad. It wasn't long before I was wearing keratoconic lenses, and because my left cornea was so steep, my left contact lense was continually popping out. As you can imagine, this was rather frustrating, and resulted in a number of lenses being lost.

By 2007 my left cornea had become so thin (and I was so shortsighted) that I was put on the waiting list for a new cornea in August. Once tissue became available everything happened very quickly - I got the call putting me on standby on friday 2nd November, and had the operation on the Monday.

The operation was really quick, and I was so well looked after by everyone at the Centre for Sight/McIndoe surgical ward. It was a strange sensation when the bandage was taken off after the op the next morning, as my eye just couldn't stop watering and my vision was extremely blurred. But I knew already that, only 12hrs after the op, my eyesight had already improved compared to what I had previously.

For the first 3 or 4 days after the op my eye was very watery and very bloodshot, but that soon calmed down. Bright sunlight was also a bit uncomfortable first thing in the morning, but again that calmed down after a matter of days. And once I got used to administering the eyedrops myself, it was a case of taking things easy and recuperating.

I can honestly say that getting a new cornea has made me feel so lucky as it's given me my life back, and in fact has given me a 2nd chance at life. But it's the simplest of things that mean so much to me now..... being able to see out the window in the morning when I open the curtains; being able to see the tv while having breakfast; going back to having a small text font on my mobile phone; feeling more confident driving at night; being able to read projector screens at work and not having to get my colleagues to read them for me; no longer having to have a huge monitor on my desk at work; no longer having to hold books to my nose to read; and being able to get back to enjoying my hobby of playing the piano, as I'm no longer straining my eyes reading the music.

I'm also now slowly getting back into my exercise programme, and while i miss not being able to do any weights for the next few months it's a very small sacrifice to make for being able to see again.

Thank you Mr Daya, thank you Centre for Sight/McIndoe Surgical Ward, but above all I thank the person that has given me my sight back.