"After 2 detached retinas, my sight is better..."

I have now had 2 successful combined cataract & retina replacement ops and I cannot thank enough everyone involved in saving my sight.

On the 1st occasion, I had to be operated on the same day or go blind. The theatre was fully booked but the surgeon got the team to work after hours to do my op.

Everyone was so supportive and reassuring which helped my state of alarm!

I followed all post op instructions and my sight was saved.

3 years later, my other eye suffered sudden retinal detachment and large tears and this time, I needed 2 ops as the eye was filled with heavy oil as opposed to a gas bubble, the 2nd op was to remove the oil.

I was very sore after the ops as the retina needed a lot of repair, but once again, following instructions has given an excellent result.

My left eye has always had a dark cloud in it and I have never had full vision; however, as the vitreous was fully removed in the vitrectomy, once the oil was removed, I had full width vision in my left eye for the first time which is quite amazing. I can also now read car number plates further away than I could 50 years ago.

I have just been signed off from the second eye ops and now just need some laser work on my right eye to clear some 'frosting' which has occurred behind the plastic lens, but apparently this is a simple procedure.

I am writing to you separately to name those who gave me such wonderful care and service at this traumatic time.

On a general note, the staff at Ophthalmology are brilliant! From the triage nurse who immediately fast-tracked me through all the diagnostic and pre-op stages to the surgical team who operated.

One thing I particularly appreciated was the way each person would say "Hello my name is ..... and I'm going to ......." This made me feel cared for rather than just be a hospital number and I knew what to expect.

Also, on my 2nd detachment, staff from the op 3 years before recognised me and stopped to ask how I was; this was very comforting.

In a nutshell, I am very lucky to live within Walsgrave Hospital's catchment area.