The London Vision Clinic Club

I’ve never been much of a “joiner” – the camaraderie of fellowship has left me lukewarm and I should confess that throughout my life, I have rarely been tempted to seek membership of groups or societies.

Therefore it is somewhat out of character for me to announce with pride, how happy I am to be part of the ever growing “club” of former London Vision Clinic patients.

We get together a couple of times a year under the umbrella of the clinic’s hospitality to celebrate the great US tradition of Thanksgiving Day at the end of November and the Summer Barbeque in July… but, it seems to me, what we are all really celebrating is the joy of perfect sight without the nuisance of glasses or contact lenses.

On a recent balmy summer evening some three hundred of us fellow patients and members of the London Vision Clinic staff shared our Laser Eye Surgery experiences in the perfect London setting of Fitzroy Square. Over a refreshing glass or two of Pimms we had the opportunity to relive the thrill of the “Wow Factor” we had felt immediately after surgery.

For, although we appreciate that we have undergone a life changing experience, it seems to be an inevitable part of human nature that eventually we take our perfect sight for granted. At least that appeared to be a common theme running through several conversations I overheard.

However, by reliving the experience, most of us patients appreciated all over again the many advantages we had enjoyed since our Laser Eye Surgery.

I met patients who had last seen each other a few weeks previously in the waiting room immediately before their procedures; and those that had taken part in patient survey meetings. I chatted to a man who was probably the “oldest” (in terms of time since his surgery; not his age) member of our “club” having had his operation in the clinic’s very early days before it moved to Devonshire Place. I also spoke to Kelly who was probably the newest member – she had had her operation the previous afternoon and was still very much in the “Wow Factor” moment.

On behalf of all of us “guests”, I would like to thank the London Vision Clinic for a terrific evening shared with great company and rounded off by the winning combination of Dr Dan on his sax and ice cream.