Words With Friends: Adjustments After Laser Eye Surgery

Mary Harboe, a print journalist and award winning broadcaster, has undergone both PRESBYOND® Laser Blended Vision and had slight adjustment work at the London Vision Clinic. She retells her story below:

It was the discovery of the game “Words with Friends” which first alerted me to the problem. While playing this Scrabble-like game on my iPhone one night, I realized that I was no longer able to see the value of each of the letter tiles. The word points and total scores were also becoming a blur; and if the special board spaces had not been colour coded, the difference between a triple word and a double letter was pure guesswork.

Although the final wake-up call had been “Words with Friends”, if I am completely honest, the warning signs had been around for some time. Under the leaden skies of a British winter, I was finding it increasingly difficult to read the newspaper without stretching my arms and squinting. The thought of reverting back to perching reading glasses on the end of my nose, constantly losing them; and then finding them on to the top of my head, was even more depressing than reading about the double-dip recession.

Like the economy, I had been in this dark place before. I had done the whole “guesswork menu reading” and “I’ll-have-what-you’re-having” because I was too vain to wear reading glasses. I had also used conditioner instead of shampoo in hotel showers more times than I care to remember; and I was determined not to return to the spectacle-wearing world ever again.

Laser Eye Surgery At The London Vision Clinic

I had first heard of the amazing work of the London Vision Clinic in 2006 when Professor Dan Reinstein had agreed to an interview on the radio show I was hosting in southern Spain. At the end of the programme, as I struggled to untangle my reading glasses from the cable of my earphones, I knew that I wanted to have PRESBYOND® Laser Blended Vision as soon as possible.

The Laser Eye Surgery took place and for me it was simply life changing. I loved seeing clearly both at distance and near, from the moment I woke in the morning to switching off the reading light last thing at night. Fast forward to six fabulous years of perfect vision and I am starting to notice things are beginning to slip, albeit ever so slightly, with my near vision.

Adjustments After Laser Eye Surgery

Professor Dan says that, although the effects of Laser Eye Surgery are permanent, our eyes – like all our organs – do change over time, and clearly this was what was beginning to happen to me. It was, however, reassuring to note that it would be very easy to correct this slight shift in my right eye – the one that is responsible for my near vision.

“Effectively, with maintenance, you can keep out of glasses for the rest of your life”, says Dr Dan.

This was good news indeed so I booked an appointment.

Of course, as with any procedure at the London Vision Clinic, I had a battery of rigorous yet essential eye checks and tests before the operation. In my case, the procedure had to be delayed until my prescription measurements became stable and consistent, but eventually the date for the enhancement was booked for 30 April 2012.

To be continued…