Team 21: My First Step on the Road to 20/20 Vision

By Stuart W. Bedford /

Team 21 initiative, I jumped at the chance. I€™d have been a fool not to - I would be able to have my cake, eat it too and get away with a cheeky second slice it seemed. Chances like this don€™t come along very often, so grabbing at it with both hands was practically a no-brainer. I know a few people who€™ve had the surgery €“ my grandmother, my partner€™s sister €“ and from what they tell me, their decision to go ahead with it has profoundly affected their lives for the better. I was of course nervous upon accepting the offer; I€™m sure I€™ll get nervous once more before the procedure itself takes place, but in visiting my local Optical Express for my consultation I was put almost entirely at ease by the knowledge and professionalism of the staff. I asked questions of course: €œHow long does is the laser in contact with my eyes?€ for example, was answered with €œfor around ten seconds in each eye€. €œCan the surgery blind me?€ was another pertinent one, which was answered with €œthe likelihood of repairable complications occurring is around 1 in 1000. The chances of unrepairable complications, which can admittedly lead to further vision impairment, sits at an average of just 1 in 25,000€. I don€™t know about you but for 20/20 vision, I really like those odds. I had several tests during my consultation. My prescription was retested; the inside of my eyeballs were scanned, analysed and showed back to me (which I can assure you is as trippy as it sounds); my Corneas were tested for thickness in order to determine which procedure was absolutely right for me (as there are a few on offer) and after it all, I really did feel that my surgery was being custom fitted to me personally to ensure maximum safety and success. I was also given some fairly detailed background information on the Opthalmic Surgeon who would be performing my procedure €“ a one Dr. Faqir A Qazi. I may have enquired about his experience, his track record (after all, this man will have my vision quite literally in his hands) but I didn€™t need to; in my Patient Information Folder I received a profile of Dr Qazi€™s entire educational and professional qualifications, as well as a rundown of his career to date. For the most part, my questions were answered even before I had chance to ask them. With everything I needed to know either answered pre-emptively or through further questioning, I left the consultation feeling excited to face the surgery. The date of my procedure, November 12th, is exactly one week away at time of writing. And yes, I€™m a little nervous. Who wouldn€™t be? But thanks to the wonderful staff at Optical Express in St. John Street, Liverpool, I€™m totally ready to face the laser.

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