Habiba Da Silva had been wearing glasses ever since she can remember and has always had problems with her vision. She is a popular social media influencer, with over 800,000 thousand followers on Instagram alone. The focal point of her posts is make-up and style, and it was her love of getting glam that initially brought her to Optical Express. “I have always really been in love with wearing make-up and I feel like glasses really limit me with vision as well as being able to see the make up on my face. I’ve always wanted to do something for my vision that would be more permanent than wearing glasses or contact lenses.”

Habiba felt the time was right to undergo laser eye treatment, “It will really help me with my work because my job is very fast paced sometimes and I can’t always be concerned about my vision and whether I’m comfortable with my glasses or contact lenses.”

The decision to undergo laser eye surgery wasn’t something that Habiba took lightly. She reached out to her (many) followers on Instagram to ask their thoughts on the treatment and she was overwhelmed with the positive response.

“So many people messaged me with their experience telling me how positive it was and how it’s helped them in their lives. So I think at that point I thought OK this is something that can genuinely help people in their lives and I think I am ready to take the step.”

Habiba underwent her treatment at the Optical Express clinic in Birmingham. How did she feel on the day of surgery? “I was really nervous! The nurse was really calming me down. We spoke a little bit about the surgery and then I was whisked away to the surgery room. At every step of the surgery, I was informed what was happening, especially right before I got into the seat.”

She was surprised and delighted by how quickly the process took. “I think I was literally in the surgery room for 8 minutes! It was super-fast, and then I was done. I was back at home within the hour. At one point the nurse came and held my hand and reassured me that everything was fine. I was really, really happy with the treatment by the staff.”

After a quick nap at home on the same day as treatment, Habiba began to see the world in a whole new way. “I was able to see. I remember going around the house, staying far away from objects trying to see how well I could see. I think that was the moment I really felt this is actually happening and has actually worked. It’s been crazy and life changing.”

24 hours after her surgery, Habiba received positive news from her Surgeon. “He told me I had amazing vision already! I had another appointment a week after in which they told me I was healing really well.”

“For me comfort is the most important thing because I used to get really uncomfortable from wearing my contacts during the day. That’s something I was a bit worried about with the surgery, that maybe my eyes would get dry during the day but it has honestly been amazing.”, Habiba said.