For 21 years, Sara Rogers lived in a blurry world, recognising her son only by the sound of his voice and the closeness of his touch. Now, after life-changing surgery, she has finally seen the freckles on his face and the grin lines around his eyes.
The 53-year-old mum from Powys, Wales, spent decades suffering from severe myopia and astigmatism, unable to see more than ten centimetres in front of her face. But after undergoing advanced trifocal lens replacement, she describes the transformation as "stepping back into her life."
The emotional peak of Sara’s journey came during her son Nathan’s 21st birthday celebrations in Turkey. Standing in the bright sunlight, she realised how much the operation had transformed her life.
"This time, I looked at him in the sunshine and suddenly saw all the tiny details on his face," Sara said. "His eyelashes, his grin lines and his eyes when he laughs. When I told him I could see him, he asked me to count his eyelashes. Then he asked me if I could see his freckles and I told him I could see him properly."
"After the surgery, it felt like someone had turned my life up to HD," Sara added. "I could see the writing on the emergency fire leaflet across the room. I could see the coffee, tea and sugar packets and even read the brand names. I just lay there thinking, I can see everything."
She continued: "I could see hair grips in women's hair, cracks between paving stones, laces on strangers' shoes and tiny buttons on pedestrian crossings. It was all in 3D technicolour. It was unbelievable and life changing, I was walking around open-mouthed, gawping at everything."
Sara says her life has been completely transformed, and now simple tasks are so much easier. She describes it as a "huge weight being lifted" and is so grateful she can see emotions and expressions, adding: "I'm safer, more confident and honestly happier. I feel like I've stepped back into my life."
With other people telling her she looks "brighter," Sara believes it's because she can finally see the world, and will stop and marvel at nature. "I didn’t realise what I'd lost until it came back. Before, I was careful, but now I'm confident."
Sara said it was "incredibly difficult" to not be able to see her own baby after first welcoming Nathan. But after she underwent the surgery everything changed. She was offered a trifocal lens replacement using advanced ZEISS lenses by consultant ophthalmic surgeon Mfazo Hove. "You don't realise how fortunate you are when you can't see more than ten centimetres in front of your nose – the world can feel like a very frightening place. For me, it isn't anymore."
