I have been going to the eye doctor since I was 2 years old. I started wearing glasses at that age. I spent my childhood being teased and taunted by children because of my thick glasses. What did I care? I was a smart student, and the others were just being stupid. I never really knew just how ugly I was in my glasses.

When I was 14, my doctor urged me to wear soft contact lenses. Boy, did that change my life. Now I finally considered myself to be pretty. I didn’t have to be embarrassed by always wearing glasses anymore. To tell you the truth, I didn’t have any problems with contacts. Since I’m 28, that’s a total of 14 years I wore them. Luckily they never got itchy or dry in my eyes. I got used to the routine of cleaning them every night and putting them in as soon as I woke up (Lord knows, I never wanted anyone to see me in my glasses), but like anything, I dreamed of the day when I could be contact and glasses-free.

That day came last year. I contacted Dr. Salz after I saw his website. Miraculously, I fell upon one of the best eye surgeons in the whole country! And this was the first doctor I researched! I felt so lucky that here was a man who could fix all of my problems. My eyesight was so bad that the laser surgery wasn’t even an option. We discussed both the Clear Lens Extraction and the Implantable Contact Lens procedures. Since I’m still relatively young and still have the ability to focus, Dr. Salz recommended the ICL procedure. He would be planting a contact lens inside of my eye, in front of my natural lens. I was very excited about the procedure and kept calling and bugging his office, trying to schedule the surgery. I had to wait for a period of time because I was a part of a research study and there was a certain procedure that the lens company had to comply by.

I had my first eye, the left one, corrected in September. The surgery was pretty simple. But like any surgery, it was a bit scary. Thankfully it was over within 20 minutes. The only hard part was having to keep my eye open while staring at the most intense white light I’ve ever seen. By that afternoon, I was able to read with my left eye! I was so excited. And there was virtually no recovery necessary, just a few eye drops every day for about a month. I still have a bit of astigmatism in that eye, so at best my eyesight is 20/40, but you’re talking about someone whose eyesight was 20/400! I had my right eye done in December, and that’s even better, with 20/25 vision.

It’s so wonderful to be able to read in bed, not worrying about dragging myself to the bathroom for the nightly contact lens cleaning, or wearing heavy glasses in bed. I can’t wait to be able to spend the night in remote places, and not having to worry about cleaning my lenses, or having people spot me wearing glasses. My life has changed dramatically. I have better self-esteem now and I’m more confident about my appearance.

I must add that Dr. Salz, his office team, and the team at the Freedom Vision Surgery Center are some of the nicest and most caring people I’ve ever met. I always felt very comfortable in their hands.

Thank you, Dr. Salz, for changing my life.

Stacie S.