Gift of Sight program is real eye-opener

By Koren Temple

It's 10:15 a.m. and 37-year old John Jerry is nervous about his eye examination at Furlong Vision Correction Center. He twiddles his thumbs in a bright waiting room and adjusts the heavy pair of glasses on his nose.

The examination isn't for a new pair of glasses, which the Campbell resident has been wearing since boyhood. This time, Jerry will be getting laser vision correction, and that means finally ridding himself of his nearsightedness.

"I've always worn glasses and contact lenses. Over the years, it's definitely created some insecurity," Jerry says.

Come Aug. 17, Jerry will be one of 10 recipients receiving free vision correction services through Campbell-based Furlong Vision's Gift of Sight program. The program is donating $50,000 in services to individuals who cannot afford the procedures.

"I'm really excited for this opportunity because it's something I always wanted, and it's free. I just feel really blessed," says Jerry, a job-skills trainer at San Jose-based nonprofit HOPE Services.

Each year Furlong Vision, a corrective eye surgery center, 900 E. Hamilton Ave., chooses a nonprofit organization in the Bay Area to offer its services.

Previous beneficiaries of the Gift of Sight program have included the American Cancer society, the Make a Wish Foundation, the Diabetes Society of Santa Clara County and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. Other organizations, such as Valle Monte League and the Junior League of San Jose have also worked with the program.

"Through our research and recommendations, we decided to go with HOPE Services this year to provide refractive surgery to 10 clients or employees," says medical director Michael Furlong, who will perform the surgeries.

HOPE Services provides programs and services to 3,000 individuals with developmental disabilities such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism.

"Our basic intention is to give back to the community," Furlong says. "Many of the staff members at HOPE would greatly benefit from these surgeries because their insurance doesn't cover this."

Jerry knows firsthand about the costs, which range between $4,000 to $5,500 for the surgery, the aftercare and prescription eyedrops.

"I was very much interested in the surgery when I first heard about it a couple of years ago," says Jerry, who has been working for HOPE for six years. "When I looked into it, the surgery was definitely out of my budget."

That's why when HOPE announced in May that Furlong Vision would be offering the corrective surgery at no cost to employees and clients, Jerry jumped at the opportunity.

"There was an email sent out, and we had to fill out a form giving a reason why we wanted the surgery," says Jerry. "I filled it out and turned it in the first day."

HOPE instructors were chosen by a lottery system. Clients were selected based on their ability to sustain the eye procedures.

"The patients had to have problems with their glasses, whether they didn't fit well on their face, they couldn't get the contact lenses in or out, or they were allergic to contacts," says Furlong. "They also have to be able to cooperate during the surgery and show that they want this procedure."

For Jerry, fitting the criteria was the easy part.

"Dealing with contact lenses every day is hard. In the evening, when you take them out, it's difficult to do things," he says. "Without them, I'm pretty much blind. The world is just a big fuzz."

But when HOPE held its lottery to chose the individuals for surgery, Jerry wasn't chosen.

"Someone dropped out of the program, and I was next to receive the surgery," he says.

When he received notification a few weeks ago, Jerry says, "I was on top of the world at that point."

On July 13, the lottery winners from HOPE attended a pre-surgery examination to make sure their eyes were healthy. Data was collected on each prescription, and a treatment plan was developed. When the patients arrive Aug. 17, the surgery will be as quick as the blink of an eye.

"Everything is ready to go by the time they come in. It's only five minutes per eye, so it takes a total of 10 minutes," Furlong says.

Patients are awake during the painless surgery. Numbing eyedrops are given to ensure the patient is comfortable.

"I talk with them, telling them what they need look at and what I'm doing. When they are done, their vision is already improved," Furlong says.

Jerry will be the 20th patient in the Gift of Sight program since 2002. He will also be among the 15,000 patients Furlong has treated.

"Most patients would do fine with glasses or contacts, although they would have some limitations. It's really a lifestyle-enhancing procedure," says Furlong, who had laser eye surgery in 1998, two years before he opened his office in Campbell.

Trained in ophthalmology, Furlong practiced laser surgery for a year in Arizona. He earned his bachelor of science degree in 1988 from Stanford University and his M.D. from the University of Hawaii in 1992. He finished his residency at the University of Utah in 1997.

"For many people, the surgery is a nice thing to have. It's a perk," Furlong says.

While the surgery might be a perk, Furlong says it has helped his patients' lives. One patient, he says, was a contact lens-wearer who had three jobs and five children to support.

"His contact lenses were unbearable at his construction job. Once he had the surgery, he was very appreciative," Furlong says.

Stories like that keep Furlong's Gift of Sight program going.

The program started six years ago with the help of several local optometrists. Patients were chosen from a database based on their medical criteria. Allergan Inc. donated the anti-bacterial eyedrops for the program, and TLC Vision donated the laser facilities for the surgeries.

"These programs are a great opportunity," says Jerry.

When he opens his eyes for the first time after his surgery without contacts or glasses, Jerry says he will be overwhelmed by the gift of sight.