“My name is Claire Dowey, and I am an optometrist here at Cathedral Eye Clinic. I am part of the Northern Ireland’s women’s volleyball squad. My eyesight started to degenerate around the age of 14, so I started wearing contact lenses in order to continue playing the sports that I loved.
“By the age of 18, I had a very high prescription which meant that I was heavily reliant on glasses and contact lenses – without them, I couldn’t see much up close unless it was held up close in front of me. However, the more you wear contact lenses, the drier your eyes get – and that isn’t something you want to worry about when you’re playing contact sport.
“I had the VisuMax SMILE procedure on a Friday – I was back in work by Monday, and played a volleyball match on the Wednesday. It was so fast and painless.
It has been a life changer, right from the first night I got it done. Simple things like seeing the time on the alarm clock really transformed things – it was so exciting. Just being able to go on holiday and not having to wear contacts makes such a difference. I am so pleased!
“We have friendly staff, we treat you well. Just go for it!”
