Radiographer Samantha Hogben, aged 35 from South West London is experiencing better than 20/20 vision after she underwent life changing laser eye surgery.
Samantha was an avid contact lens wearer before laser eye surgery, claiming her eyes were dependent on them and couldn’t go anywhere without them. However, wearing contact lenses for up to 15 hours a day caused the radiographer’s eyes to feel dry, itchy and irritated.
During night shifts, Samantha would be offered a nap to refresh herself but would find this difficult if she forgot her glasses or contact lens solution. This would result in extremely dry eyes, affecting her whole day.
In a bid to combat these issues and make her personal and professional life easier, Samantha signed up for our ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign which rewards emergency service and NHS workers with free laser eye surgery. Samantha had LASEK eye surgery in both eyes. Commenting on her new 20|20 vision, Samantha said: “I am so glad I was selected for ‘Thanks a Million’, my eyesight is now better than 20/20.”
“Now I’ve had the surgery, I am able to respond to emergency situations a lot faster as I don’t have to bother with putting my contact lenses in and can head straight to the X-Ray room to deal with the emergency.”
Following a survey of members of the British public, the ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign gifted free laser eye surgery to deserving members of the NHS and emergency service workers because the survey revealed that they are the most deserving of thanks.
Chairman and CEO David Moulsdale, said: “We are delighted to hear how laser eye surgery has transformed Samantha’s working and personal life for the better.
“Our Thanks a Million campaign aimed to celebrate and reward deserving NHS workers by providing free treatment, helping to improve the lives of these everyday heroes through the gift of sight, without the barrier of their glasses or contact lenses.”
“Not only will Samantha be able to enjoy visual freedom without the use of her glasses and contact lenses, she has also done her part to help the environment. As well as posing a risk to eye health, contact lenses are also considered single use plastics which are having a huge, but often overlooked impact on the environment. New figures from Optical Express, suggest that over 750 million plastic lenses are being flushed down the drain or put in landfill every year1. These lenses form microplastics, pollute the oceans and endanger marine life. Laser eye surgery is an alternative option to vastly reduce waste caused by these single-use plastics.”
- Optical Express Survey of Contact Lens Users
Optical Express surveyed over 3,000 contact lens users across the UK between May and September 2019. Further information on the survey and the breakdown of responses available on request.