Tuesday, 4 September 2012

# 26 – Wear contacts to work


So this seems simple right?! Sadly for me this has not been so easy; hence someone set it for me! Now please don’t think it’s because I’m scared or poking my eye, or think I somehow pull off the ‘sexy teacher’ look when wearing my glasses (I don’t!). Instead the truth is far more boring. I have keratoconus.

‘Keratoconus (from Greek: kerato- horn, cornea; and konos cone) is a degenerative disorder of the  eye in which structural changes within the cornea cause it to thin and change to a more conical shape than its normal gradual curve.’ (Wikipedia 2012)

So due to this, over the past 10 years several hospitals have struggled to create lenses that can properly sit in my eyes. I have tried various styles of lenses, many of which have been made to measure, but sadly with little success. However, thanks to a locum optician I saw in TESCO last year I was informed of a new brand of lenses (Kerasoft) which are designed with my condition in mind. Privately these would have been out of my reach (£300 for the initial consultation alone), however, thanks to a helpful receptionist at an alternative opticians I was informed that if I could get referred to specific hospital they outsource their contact lenses to this optician and I could then get them on the NHS. To cut a long story short I now have Kerasoft lenses! Are they really comfy? No, but they do fit and so I have FINALLY been able to wear lenses to work. I wore them when teaching at the end of last term and today I wore them for an INSET day so I truthfully feel I can cross of number 26. Let’s just hope I can keep wearing them.