Moniek van der Horst

'My name is Moniek van der Horst and I am employed as an optometrist at the outpatient department for ophthalmology of the Franciscus Hospital in Roosendaal, The Netherlands'

'I chose to study optometry because I, myself, have been wearing contact lenses since I was ten years old. First, I wore hard, oxygen-permeable lenses and later soft contact lenses (I was too vain to wear my glasses). When my lens power for both eyes slowly increased to about minus 10 dioptres, I had reached the point at which I was totally dependent on my contact lenses. '
 
'This high power is really not much fun. People with a lower lens power find it hard to imagine how little you can actually see. You can't imagine how often I walked into a (closed) door whenever I had to get up at night to go to the bathroom without wearing my glasses. Waking up to a blurry world, exercising, travelling around countries where there is less of an emphasis on hygiene, no, contact lenses were really not ideal for me.'
  
'But obviously in my line of work, I was close to the source and when Dr. Kramer jokingly said that he wanted to implant Artisan lenses into my eyes, I had to laugh at first. After all, I could see very well with my contact lenses and I really do need my eyes in my job (who doesn’t?). So, the idea of having surgery on healthy eyes was not very appealing to me at first. '
 
'On the other hand, I imagined that it must be wonderful to be able to see well without needing glasses or contact lenses and I realised that if I didn't have it done there and then, I would probably never have it done at all. Besides, as an optometrist, I perform all the preliminary examinations as well as the checkups for people who wish to have refractive surgery. I had met so many enthusiastic people who had had Artisan lens implants that I finally decided to have it done myself too. '
  
'The preliminary examination results showed that my eyes were suitable and in December 2004, Dr. Kramer treated both my eyes in “my own hospital” in Roosendaal. The operation itself turned out to be no problem at all; there was no pain and it was all over before I knew it. My eye was patched up with a protective patch which I was allowed to remove later on that the afternoon and that was quite nerve-racking! But, straight away I was able to see well! The second eye was treated two weeks later and this operation, too, went without any complications! In contrast to some people who experience some slightly blurred vision for the first few days after the operation, my quality of vision was perfect from day one and has remained excellent ever since. I can even say that my vision is 150% without wearing glasses or contact lenses! '
  
'Every single day I enjoy my “new” eyes and I am amazed at how well I can see without being dependent on glasses or contact lenses. For the first time, I could swim under water in the pool, I could go diving, go camping, ride a motorcycle, go parachuting, in one word: wonderful!
It may sound slightly exaggerated, but for me, the Artisan implant lenses have really changed my life. The only thing I regret is that I didn't have it done much sooner! Dr. Kramer and OPHTEC: Thank you!