My eyes were very bad, around -11 in both eyes and around -2 astigmatism in both eyes. Also, I have big pupils (over 7mm), so I was, what is termed, a difficult case. One laser treatment centre had advised me not to go ahead with treatment because of the possibility of bad nighttime glare. I then spotted Accuvision's advert and went for a consultation. Vikash was great, and boy did I give him a grilling! With my high prescription the furthest he could commit to was that he could eliminate my dependence on visual aid, but that I may be left with some correction needed.

I had worn contact lenses since I was 15 (now 32), starting with soft for 11 years, then swapping to gas permeable after my eyes started to reject the soft lenses. The gas permeable were ok, but my eyes got tired, and they could become dry quite often. Living in London and getting hit in the eye with air particles was agony. I weighed up the risk that I might be left with a small correction with the liberation that no dependence on glasses or contacts would give me, and decided to go for it.

I had the operation on the 4 March. It was the most terrifying experience of my life, but so worth it. My left is perfect. Unfortunately my right has about –1 astigmatism left, and I wonder whether this is due to the fact that I had an epithelium flap complication in my right eye (the flap was cut very thin and I had a longer recovery time). I must also say that Vikash provided the best aftercare, meeting with me on a Sat evening late to clean my eye, and I want to give him a big thankyou. I am sad that my right eye did not turn out as well as my left. But the operation has changed my life, and most days I marvel at the fact that I can see. What a miracle, its added so much quality to my life. And the nighttime glare is no worse than i had with the gas permeable lenses - I don't really notice it, because I'm so used to it.

I am about to go for my 3 monthly check-up, so I'll get the verdict on my remaining astigmatism.