My name is Robin Fraser, and I am a professional soccer coach. I played soccer professionally for 17 years and with the U.S. National Team for many years as well.
Robin Fraser | Professional Soccer CoachI started wearing contact lenses and glasses in 1994. Since then, it has been an ongoing battle with my eyes. Tired eyes and blurry vision after a long day of contact lenses were just two of the many issues that arose frequently. Lenses would tear and get worn, and those always happened at the least favorable times. As I traveled the world to play, I always had to plan well ahead, to make sure that I had extra lenses and enough solution to last the length of the trip.
There is a funny story that occurred during my second ever MLS game: I went up for a header in the first few minutes of the game. It was one that involved quite a bit of contact with an opposing player. As I landed, I realized that one of my eyes was not seeing clearly at all. Thinking that my contact lens must have fallen out, I ran over to the sideline to have my trainer look around in my eye to see if it was still in place. He said it wasn’t, and figured that I just had to keep on playing. So I played the entire game, basically with one eye. It was tremendously inconvenient and extremely frustrating. I had some irritation in my eye as if something was in there, but nothing could be found. On the bus ride back to the hotel after the game, I was looking out the window and the lens just slipped down into place!! Here I had thought that I had lost it, and in reality, it had been displaced at the most inopportune time. On that day, as much as any other, I would have given anything not to need lenses!
Today, after having had LASIK surgery, I can barely remember miserable times like that. Thanks to Dr. Hoopes, my vision went from 20/100 to 20/15!! My vision is better than when I wore glasses, and a thousand times more convenient!! The surgery was a simple procedure that took only minutes. The staff at Hoopes Vision were all fantastic. They made sure that I clearly understood every step that was coming, and spared no effort to ensure my comfort. The day I had the surgery, the results were instantaneous.
I keep thinking how much I wished I would have had this done while I was playing. It is amazing to be out on the field coaching now, and have clear vision with no maintenance necessary. This was a life changing experience, for which I am deeply thankful to Dr. Hoopes.