Joy Greasley
“I used to teach adults communication skills including breaking down barriers – glasses were my own barrier.”
About 40 women from the WI came to an opening evening held at the Centre for Sight hospital, and I decided I was not going to leave the building without an appointment. Over the years I became extremely short sighted and began to wear contacts lenses and glasses; sometimes both together! I used to teach adults communication skills including breaking down barriers – glasses were my own biggest barrier!
I was nervous on the day of surgery until I entered the building where I was greeted by an ambience of calm. The staff were very protective and kept me continually aware of what was going on. The surgery did not hurt and all I could see were flashing lights; the experience was much better than going to the dentist! That evening the pad over my eye slipped slightly and I became aware that I could see light.
In the morning my husband removed the pad and my first reaction was; “That lampshade looks so clear!” I felt like that I was seeing in HD vision. I have always had to keep cleaning my glasses and there was always a risk of makeup or dust with contact lenses, so it had been a long time since I had seen anything in such clarity! By having only one eye done first I realised with my ‘new’ eye the paper looked white and with my ‘old’ eye the paper looked grey. I couldn’t wait for my second eye!
So much colour has now come back into my life. I feel like I’m seeing in 3D and even as a child I can’t remember seeing anything like this. Everyone looks so different and I can now see the freckles on my grandchildren’s faces. Driving has become a lot easier and I can now enjoy swimming with my grandchildren without the limitations glasses caused. I can now thread a needle without any glasses, so I remove the cotton and do it all over again just because I can! I don’t have to sit close to the screen in the cinema anymore and watching ‘One man two governors’ at the West End was one of the best things I have ever seen with clear eyes! I have more self confidence now and you just don’t realise until it’s done how life itself becomes a lot easier.