We thanked Ambulance Dispatcher Stephanie from Wigan for her incredible work with visual freedom. She serves as an essential resource to the community within the North West, working demanding 12 hour shifts.

With a workspace extended across 3 screens, she is constantly moving her head back and forth “like an owl” – leading to strain and headaches. Stephanie tells us she has “always hated wearing glasses”, finding herself self-conscious and limited by her reliance on them.

When attending a free consultation at Optical Express to determine her edibility for laser eye surgery, she noticed a poster in the clinic advertising the ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign and the opportunity for her to receive the procedure for free.  Stephanie was one of many lucky applicants from the NHS and Emergency Services that were given his experience as a thank you for their incredible contributions.

Asked about her experience on the day of the surgery, Stephanie has nothing but positive words to share. She was reassured by the depth and reassurance provided in the surgeon’s answers to her questions. The procedure itself was over within a few minutes, of which she says, “It’s not scary. It’s not painful” and the team even gave her a fidget toy to distract her during.

Stephanie’s ambitions of being a Paramedic and taking up open water swimming will be made significantly easier with the “brilliant, better than 20/20” vision that she now has. She can now continue the incredibly vital work she does as an Ambulance Dispatcher without being disrupted by pain.

Over the course of the two campaigns in 2017 and again in 2023, £2 million worth of surgery will improve the everyday lives of NHS and Emergency Service workers.

Since Optical Express was founded 33 years ago, the team are proud to have supported hundreds of humanitarian and philanthropic projects, donating over £33 million and counting to worthwhile causes in the UK and abroad.