Traffic officer who forfeited his driving licence when he lost his vision has career and sight saving operation in Peterborough

A traffic officer from Cambridgeshire, whose livelihood was put in jeopardy when he began to lose his sight, has had a career-saving eye operation in Peterborough.
Simon StearmanSimon Stearman
Simon Stearman

Simon Stearman, 56, depended on having good eyesight as a traffic officer, but when poor vision cost him his driver’s licence, his livelihood was suddenly at risk.

The Falklands veteran and former Royal Navy weapons expert, said: "My eyesight started getting worse last year and the problems started four months ago.

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"My night vision had totally deteriorated and the glare from oncoming cars blinded me on dark roads. After visiting an optician I was diagnosed with cataracts, and referred to NHS.

Simon StearmanSimon Stearman
Simon Stearman

"Soon afterwards I lost my driving licence – I could hardly read number plates at ten feet, and after a few close calls it was only a matter of time before I had an accident. This made it impossible to work – my head office was 40 miles away.

"The waiting list was 18 months followed by an additional three month wait for the surgery appointment. By that time I would have lost my job, so I needed to find a solution."

Simon who works as a traffic officer for M25 area (South Mimms, Eastern Region) and lives in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, decided the only solution was to have a career-saving eye operation at private eye surgery clinic Optimax, in Lincoln Road, Peterborough.

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He had the procedure in October and had his driving license reinstated within weeks.

Simon StearmanSimon Stearman
Simon Stearman

He added: "I went for a consultation at Optimax in Peterborough and a few weeks later I had my first eye treated. The staff were faultless and put me at ease, and I could see well 20 minutes after treatment to my first eye.

"It felt amazing – the world went from yellow-brown to LED white. At the end of October, my driving licence was reinstated and a few weeks later I was back at work.

"The added bonus is that my glasses no longer steam up in wet weather, and it makes motorcycling easier – which is a passion of mine. Work is less stressful and my night vision is much better – it’s given me a lot more confidence.

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"Not only did the treatment get rid of the cataracts but it also gave me freedom from glasses”.

Simon had monofocal lenses implanted in a procedure called RLE treatment, which is the same procedure as Cataract treatment. The eye’s natural lens is replaced with an artificial lens for the purpose of achieving freedom from glasses, in this case to achieve good distance vision and remove cataracts.