Suffering from astigmatism in both eyes, causing blurred vision at all distances, Tom was forced to rely on glasses to see throughout the day. Having an active lifestyle, however, he quickly realised that his glasses were not providing him with adequate visibility when riding his motorcycle or playing golf.

Desperate to find an alternative vision correction solution to improve his quality of life, he considered opting for contact lenses but felt uncomfortable with the risk of infection that comes with wearing them.

“When riding the motorbike, if you crouch down when you’ve got your glasses on, you’re looking above the glasses so your vision is obviously not clear. When golfing, if it’s raining a little bit or when it’s really hot, my glasses sometimes slide down my nose,” he explains. Also fond of travel, he grew increasingly frustrated with the hassle that came with wearing glasses on holiday but was hesitant to switch to contact lenses for fear of infection or to invest in prescription sunglasses due to their high cost: “I have to put contact lenses in when I’m on holiday or you have to spend a lot of money on prescription sunglasses. So, that was always a bit annoying really.”

As both his brother and two close friends had opted for laser eye surgery just last year and had described the experience as life-changing, Tom decided to book in for treatment at our Cambridge clinic. While he was slightly apprehensive at first, he felt reassured upon meeting the highly-experienced team and was delighted to find that the procedure only took several minutes to perform and was completely pain-free. “I was a little bit apprehensive but not nervous or anything because I’m in the hands of qualified professionals and surgeons. I was under treatment on the bed for about three minutes, if that. I just can’t get over how impressive and quick it is, and pain-free, it’s incredible,” he says.

Just 24 hours after surgery, Tom was over the moon to find that he could already read number plates, signage, and telephone numbers. Feeling ‘Like a kid at Christmas’, he is looking forward to life with complete visual freedom: “It’s going to be life-changing because I have to wear my glasses every waking hour. I’m looking forward to going places and doing stuff because I don’t have to wear glasses anymore.”

Tom wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Optical Express to his friends and family, describing his laser eye surgery journey as ‘Incredible’. “I would definitely recommend Optical Express. The whole process has been spot on and as far as I can see there are loads dotted around me, so there is access anywhere. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with Optical Express. Honestly, I can’t get a smile off my face all morning! Everything feels too clear, it’s almost like it shouldn’t be this clear so soon,” he says.