"Life Changing" Eye Surgery For Cannock Mother-Of-Three, Staffordshire, England
But after some prompting from her optician and thanks to a Cannock Chase Hospital eye surgeon, Linda has been able to throw away the glasses she has hated for the last 40 years. Linda's optician, John Beddows, was amazed when he saw the strength of her glasses and suggested she asked the hospital if they could help.
"She really was on the very limit of prescription glasses," said Mr Beddows, who owns Portland Eye Care, in Cannock, and is also a local councillor. "I know there has been a lot of medical progress in optical surgery and said she should ask if anything could be done to help her, and Cannock Chase Hospital stepped up to the mark. What they've done for her is amazing."
Consultant ophthalmic surgeon Mr Bal Manoj carried out an operation to insert a corrective lens in both of Linda's eyes to enable her see better.
"I was born a month premature, which affected my eyesight and I had also developed cataracts. When I was younger, people walking down the street would stare at my glasses and call me names. I got really fed up with it," said Linda. "I couldn't do anything unless I was wearing my glasses. Without them everything used to be blurred unless it was two inches away from my face. Now I only need glasses for reading small print. I was really worried before the operation because I thought I might never see my five-month-old granddaughter Natasha again. But as soon as I had my eye patch off I could see crystal clear - it was amazing. It's changed my life and I can't thank Mr Beddows, Mr Manoj and the hospital eye care centre staff enough. I'm free from those horrible glasses. It has given me loads more confidence, I'm like a different person. The hospital staff were all brilliant. I just wish I had been able to have it done years ago, but the procedure wasn't around when I was a little girl. It's given me a totally new life."
Linda's husband Mark said: "Linda's glasses were so heavy they used to leave marks on her nose. It was great when they took the patches off her eyes. Her first words were 'Wow, I can see'. She was so happy, it's been great for her."
Mr Manoj said: "Linda had quite unusually high myopia, of minus 30. We regularly see patients with minus nine or 10, but not 30. Because her glasses were very, very thick, her field of vision was also narrowed. The operation is one we carry out regularly for cataract patients and people do notice a big difference, but because Linda was so short-sighted she has noticed a vast difference. In addition to the surgical challenges of operating on a very large eyeball, there are many technical challenges like getting all the complex calculations required for the lens implant, a process called biometry. We aim to get all our patients as close to zero on the scale as possible and I'm pleased to say Linda is now not very far from this."
-- Image 1 - Linda McCormack, holding the thick glasses she has been able to ditch thanks to Cannock Chase Hospital, pictured with grandaughter Natasha and optician John Beddows.
-- Image 2 - A close up shot of Linda's old glasses, which had 1cm thick lenses.
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust
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