Lucinda Goodwin
“It was such a relief -- I would say a miracle.”
Photo: Nancee Lewis
Lucinda Goodwin never had very good eyesight — she started wearing glasses at age 15 — but things got a lot worse about three years ago.
“I had almost no night vision,” she told us. “Crossing the street, the headlights would hurt my eyes. Eventually I couldn’t see even in the daytime.”
Lucinda takes care of her young nephew after school, and helping him with his homework was a challenge. “At the park, I couldn’t see him. I would tell him, ‘Your auntie can’t see very well.’
“Finally I realized that I probably had cataracts. I had an eye exam, and the doctor confirmed it.”
It was bad timing for Lucinda. She had recently retired, so she didn’t have health insurance — but she was still too young for Medicare.
Fortunately, a friend talked to a member of the San Diego FTC Lions Club, who referred Lucinda to LSH.
“I liked the fact that the application was not complicated,” she told us. “Within two weeks, someone from the Shiley clinic contacted me. I was impressed with how quickly it happened. They scheduled my pre-op in late February, almost a month to the day from when I turned in my application. It was fast.”
Lucinda had her first surgery in March, and her second in July. “I couldn’t believe the improvement,” she marvels. “I could see everything so clearly.
“When I went for my post-op in August, my eyesight was 20-40.” Good enough to pass the DMV exam. “It was such a relief — I would say a miracle.”
Now, she says, she has told friends about LSH. “I tell them, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ I knew I was in safe hands.”
