Theresa Laster

Condition: Sjögren’s Syndrome

“To summarize my experience with BostonSight, it would be from the depths of despair to the glorious days of a normal life.

I wore very bright yellow goggles that fit over my eyeglasses I purchased at a hardware store in my hometown of Byron, GA. The goggles caught the attention of a young lady at the famous Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

It was March 2015, windy, and I had traveled to Massachusetts to care for the graves of Boston- area relatives. Even with my goggles, eye drops, and all the other precautions that I’d taken to prevent air from blowing in my eyes, I was miserable from dry eye syndrome (DES).

DES is caused by a chronic lack of sufficient lubrication and moisture on the surface of the eye (which in my case was caused by an autoimmune disorder, Sjögren’s Syndrome).Consequences range from subtle but constant eye irritation to significant inflammation and even scarring of the front surface of the eye.

That day, my eyes felt like someone had thrown beach sand into my eyes and was trying to remove it with sandpaper. It was torture! I was depressed, miserable and in pain 24/7.

The young lady at Mt. Auburn recognized why I might be wearing goggles and took note of my bright-red eyes. She inquired as to why I was wearing them. I explained to her about my long struggle with DES and how the goggles helped. She listened attentively and said, ‘You should definitely go to BostonSight. They really helped a friend of mine a lot’.

I took down the information she offered and called immediately. I was fortunate to be able to get in for a consultation at BostonSight before I had to return home. The moment a pair of trial PROSE devices were applied to my eyes, I was totally pain free for the first time in years! I sat in awe. It suddenly hit me that these devices were going to change my life. It was such a life-changing moment that I cried.

I couldn’t return for treatment until the end of 2015, and that is when my healing journey truly began. Being fit with my own, customized PROSE devices changed my life dramatically.

My doctor (Chirag Patel, OD, FAAO) and the staff at BostonSight are, without question, world-class, compassionate professionals who made me feel like I was their only patient. The entire experience was exceptional.

Today, I live a life which is minimally impacted by my dry eyes. The most significant change is that I am pain-free. I now have a life with my family, travel, and enjoy the normal activities of living. All these blessings because of an inquiry about my bright yellow googles, from a lady whose friend also had a life-changing experience at BostonSight.

I will always have severe dry eye, but I’ll also never be without my PROSE devices!”