'I had been wearing soft contact lenses for more than 20 years, but one day in 1995 this was all over. My optician advised me to stop wearing lenses because I had vessel ingrowth. I had to go back to wearing glasses, what a catastrophe.'

'At that time, I was working as a dancer in Paris. I participated in dance competitions, performed in shows and, together with my dance partner, I ran a dance school where we trained a lot of professional dance couples. You cannot possibly wear glasses if you are a professional dancer. For one thing, it is dangerous because of the many quick turns you make and sometimes you are almost hanging upside down and besides, wearing glasses during competitions or shows is really not a good look.'
 
'However, you do have to be able to see well, just imagine if you miss your partner’s hand. During a show, you often have very quick costume changes and when you do this you have to be able to clearly see the many buttons and hooks.'

'An examination showed that a laser operation was not an option for me because my cornea was too thin and I also had an ocular deviation that was too high.'
 
'Meanwhile, an article about Artisan lenses appeared in a Dutch newspaper. My parents read this article and sent it to me in Paris. It was the solution to my problem.'
 
During the 1996 summer holidays, the inventor of the lenses, Prof. Dr. Worst, implanted Artisan lenses in my eyes. Everything went really well and after the summer holidays I was once more able to dance with good vision!'
 
'Because of my large pupil size, I used to experience, and still experience, problems with glare and halos in the dark.
This drawback, however, is more than compensated for by the benefits I have derived from these lenses during the past 12 years. I am still very happy that the treatment was performed back then.
 
Although I no longer dance quite as much as I did then, it is wonderful to be able to play tennis and to go running without having to wear glasses. And I have to be honest with myself here, the aesthetic aspect obviously also plays a part.'