Wearing glasses from the age of 19, Paul switched to contact lenses in later years but found himself struggling with dry and irritated eyes when he started spending more time behind a screen at work. Forced to rely more and more on glasses to correct his poor vision, he grew increasingly frustrated with the way these were disrupting his active lifestyle.

“Wearing contacts in particular was difficult. I spent a lot of time in front of the screen, certainly more in later years, and I was finding that really difficult. So, I started spending less time wearing contact lenses and more time wearing glasses.”

Being a keen cyclist and swimmer, Paul quickly realised that his glasses were restricting his vision when out on the bike and that he was unable to wear them at all while swimming. Finding that poor sight and glasses were impacting his ability to exercise, leaving him at a disadvantage when competing in triathlons, he was determined to find an alternative vision correction solution that would be more suitable to his lifestyle. “The sense of disorientation in a swimming pool was quite difficult for me. From the age of 19, I’ve worn glasses, so it’s been something that I’ve always just accepted. But, with running particularly, the bouncing around and the movement of them. It impacts how you’re exercising and how you’re feeling. It’s a distraction and it gets in the way,” he explains. 

Feeling apprehensive from the moment he first booked his consultation, Paul was relieved to find that his nerves quickly disappeared when he arrived for treatment at the Liverpool clinic: “From the minute I walked through the door the staff were reassuring, they made me feel at ease. There was some general conversation to try and make me feel relaxed, and it was just great from end to end really.” With his eyes quickly adjusting after the procedure, achieving 20|20 vision within less than 24 hours, Paul was blown away by the rapid improvement and speedy recovery, commenting: “I’m amazed by how quickly your eyes recover and the fact that I’m sat here now with 20|20 vision. It feels like I never had any operation yesterday!”

Hoping to compete in triathlons with more confidence, and looking forward to being able to go swimming with his family without the constant hassle that comes with wearing glasses or contact lenses, Paul is over the moon with his new-found visual freedom. When asked if he would recommend laser eye surgery at Optical Express to friends and family, he didn’t hesitate: “I would definitely recommend Optical Express. The care I’ve received yesterday and today has just been brilliant. Incredible that yesterday at 1 PM I was sat worried about it, now I’m about to jump in the car and drive home and my vision is perfect. It’s amazing, it really, really is!”