Michelle, a Mental Health Nurse from Belfast was one of the lucky patients to receive free laser eye surgery as part of our ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign.

Finding that wearing glasses were not very practical due to the nature of her job and the long hours it entails, Michelle often had to rely on contact lenses, sometimes having to keep them in for around 14 hours a day, leaving her eyes dry and irritated. It was when she heard from a colleague about the Optical Express ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign, that she made the decision to apply for free laser eye surgery and could not believe her luck when she received the phone call to tell her she had been selected.

When we caught up with Michelle just 24-hours after her surgery in Belfast, her vision was already better than 20/20. Commenting on the improvement in her vision that morning, Michelle described it as being “like a whole new world”. Now she is looking forward to her upcoming holiday and wedding, being able to fully enjoy the experiences without the added stress and hassle of glasses and contact lenses.

Michelle had nothing but positive words to say about her surgical experience with Optical Express, telling us that the process was amazing, from the initial phone call all the way to her recent post-operative appointment. Calling the clinic team who looked after her, “so friendly and welcoming” Michelle felt that she was kept fully informed throughout her entire patient journey and that she would “100% recommend laser eye surgery at Optical Express to everybody that she meets”.

Optical Express first launched the ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign in 2017 and donated £1 million worth of free laser eye surgery to NHS and Emergency Service workers. The campaign since relaunched in 2023 with Optical Express donating another £1 million worth of laser eye surgery. It’s our way of saying a big thank you to the NHS and Emergency Service workers for the great work that they do.