LASIK : Patient Experiences

Fighting Fires and Poor Vision Are a Bad Combination

Imagine dashing into a burning building if you are unable to see.

"Well, I'm not blind", says Derek Shoup, "but I am a firefighter for the City of Raleigh and until last week, I worked with the serious handicap of having seriously impaired vision."

The problem was resolved last week, he notes, when he took his 20:250 vision to Dr. Dwight Perry at North Carolina Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat, and emerged from a very brief LASIK vision correction procedure with his eyes registering, the day after surgery, with perfect 20:20 vision.

"I've always been blind as a bat", says Mr. Shoup, "and I began wearing glasses in the second grade. But as a firefighter, poor vision was more than a nuisance. Vision is critical to my work. Contacts didn't work for me because my eyes are allergic to them. So my only option was glasses, and I couldn't wear standard glasses inside my turnout mask. I needed special glasses, designed to fit inside that helmet. The problem is, with this design, the glasses fog up very rapidly. Combine the fog on the glasses with the smoke in a burning house, and for all intents and purposes I often functioned without usable vision."

"My job also includes a lot of vehicle rescue -- basically, cutting people out of cars that have been in an accident. This is exceedingly difficult to do when you are in an awkward position, working with rescue tools, and your glasses start to slip down your nose. So all things considered, this LASIK procedure has a profound impact on my work life and on other things I like to do, as well, such as woodworking."