Having worn glasses since I was a child (7 years old) I had toyed with the idea of surgery for a couple of years. I am very long sighted and have a pretty high prescription +7.5 for distance with an extra +1 for reading making my varifocal specs +8 for reading. I also had a history of a squint since childhood. I attended Optical Express store at Merry Hill and had the initial consultation with Carly and Sheena (the optomostrist) was told that I would not be suitable for laser surgery although could have Lens Replacement surgery. The cost was £6900.00. It was with some trepidation I decided to go forward with this - to be absolutely honest I felt pretty frightened about the whole thing. I requested to be referred to Manchester St Johns primarily because my sister in law had had successful surgery there a few years previously. I was therefore referred to consultant Mr Gonzalez at St Johns Manchester. I attended pre-surgery appointment and was given very thorough eye examination on high tech machinery. Mr Gonzalez suggested I do a trial of contact lens to see if I could adapt to Monovision. (One eye corrected to distance and the other to near vision) . If `I was able to adapt to Monovision then it was the best chance of making me completely glasses free, otherwise I would need to have correction for distance and accept the fact that I would need a weak pair of glasses for reading. Apparently because of my history of squint Monofocal lens implants were going to be best for me. What I didn’t realise at this time was that swimming is absolutely out of the question for a few weeks after surgery - Mr Gonzalez advised me under no circumstances should I even contemplate any risk of getting swimming pool water in my eyes until all Post Operative healing was complete. He was very firm about this - I already had a beach holiday booked and therefore had to cancel the surgery dates until after my holiday - this was all done without any problem. In the mean time the Merry Hill store fitted me with contact lens and I wore them for several days - it didn’t take me long to decide to opt for Monovision correction. Surgery days arrived (each eye a week apart) and I was absolutely terrified, but the staff at Saint Johns Manchester could not have been better. They really helped put me at ease, answered al, questions I had and at times helped alleviate nerves by making me laugh. The operation itself was totally painless and very quick (I was In Theatre around 15 - 20 minutes each eye) I am now several days Post Op having completed surgery for both eyes. I can’t begin to explain how it’s made me feel - the difference in my vision is absolutely astounding. Even though the healing process isn’t yet complete I can already do everything without specs - reading driving tv - my eyes adjust without any issues. After a lifetime of glasses it’s totally liberating. Words cannot express enough thanks to all those who helped me on this journey, Mr Gonzalez, Anasthetic Staff, Nurses, Admin Staff Etc at Saint Johns Manchester, and to both Carly (who just held everything together for me) and Sheena the optomostrist at Merry Hill Store of Optical Express. All of you played your part in doing something wonderful - you changed a persons life for the better. My Grateful thanks to all of you