Heather has been a police officer for over 15 years, with 11 years of active duty service and the past 4 in recruitment – during these years glasses have been a part of her every day.

Headaches were an unwelcome consequence of Heather’s aversion to vision correction; as an avid runner, it was more convenient to run with poor vision than with glasses sliding from her face. These compromises will no longer be necessary following her free laser eye surgery as part of the Optical Express 2023 ‘Thanks A Million’ campaign. 

Despite some initial nervousness, the expertise of the Optical Express team put her at ease. "This is what the surgeons do day to day," she reminded herself on the day of her procedure. The knowledge of our team, along with their friendly and compassionate approach to patient care – made for a quick and smooth experience for Heather.

 “I’ve never had surgery before and it was done within maybe 10, well less than 10 minutes anyway. Absolutely pain free,” she shares with us one month after her procedure. “You have a test for an eye check-up the day after surgery and although I met 20/20 vision, after coming back today I’ve actually superseded 20/20, so it’s been well worth it.”

Optical Express first launched the ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign in 2017 and donated £1 million worth of free laser eye surgery to NHS and Emergency Service workers. The campaign relaunched in 2023 with Optical Express donating another £1 million worth of laser eye surgery. It’s our way of saying a big thank you to the NHS and Emergency Service workers for the great work that they do.