Posted by: Mann Eye in LASIK, Testimonials
You may know Jen Hatmaker as an author, podcaster, speaker, or maybe you recognize her from the HGTV show My Big Family Renovation. Jen, who lives near Austin in a 100-year old farmhouse with her five children, is a social justice activist and serves on the board for Austin New Church, a church she co-founded.
And now, she’s a newly minted member of the Mann Eye Institute Family.
One of Jen’s young adult sons had LASIK at Mann Eye last year, and she was astounded by how much and how quickly the procedure improved his vision. “It’s crazy!” she said. “Caleb now has perfect vision, and let me tell you, he was practically blind. Mann Eye corrected his terrible, terrible vision.”
Jen began to wonder if LASIK could fix her vision, too. At 46 years old, she’s worn glasses since the second grade. “If you’re good at math, then you know that means I’ve worn glasses and contacts for 39 years,” Jen said. Add to that the need for readers that crept up on her a few years ago, and Jen joked that she has some form of corrective eyewear in every part of her home, office, car, purse, everywhere!
Jen’s Journey to Seeing Life Better
She met with Dr. Luke Barker at our Austin location, and after testing, he explained to her that she’d be a great candidate for a version of LASIK called “blended vision”, where one eye is corrected for near vision and one for distance. It’s a great option for patients over 40 who have nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism but also deal with the need for readers due to an age-related condition called presbyopia.
After hearing about the procedure, Jen decided to make the leap! “Hey, 39 years, and I’ve done my time!” she said. “Goodbye to all those glasses and contacts and readers! I won’t miss you!”
Jen gathered all her glasses, contacts, solutions and readers with plans to get rid of everything. She even offered to mail her super-cute reading glasses collection to the first of her followers to comment that they wanted them! “I’ll never wear another pair of glasses or readers again in my living life, and I am just so delighted about that,” she said.
“Do you understand what it’s like for me to have to pack all this stuff when I travel? Or to get to the end of a long day at a speaking engagement where my contacts are so fogged over that I literally can’t see my notes anymore? Well, this has been my journey, but that’s all about to change!”
“I am Now a Person Who Can See”
In February of 2021, Jen went in for her LASIK procedure with Dr. Barker. She was astounded by how quickly and smoothly everything went. “Wow, Dr. Barker just killed it, and his team is amazing. They kept me so calm,” she said. “And the whole thing was over in under 10 minutes! What?!? Literally 39 years of glasses and contacts. Ten minutes to fix it. Incredible.”
Jen went home and napped as instructed. After a quick bite to eat (and a tiny bit of sneaky reading without her readers!), she went back to sleep until the next morning. “When I woke up and opened my eyes, I honestly just burst out laughing,” she admitted. “I am now a person who can see. In my life, like in my entire life, I don’t remember a time when I just woke up and saw. I’m astounded.”
It’s Your Turn to See Life Better
Welcome to the Mann Eye Family, Jen! We’re so excited for you to join our group of Alumn-EYEs!
At Mann Eye Institute, we were so excited to be a part of Jen’s journey to visual freedom. And we’d love to be a part of yours, too! No matter your vision or your age, we have vision solutions for you! Advanced LASIK with the latest, most-proven technology, in the hands of our experienced, board-certified surgeons, could be your ticket to visual freedom without the hassles, restrictions or health conditions associated with glasses and contacts.
Check out more of Jen’s story on our Instagram.
Your See Life Better journey begins with a no-obligation, 100% free LASIK consultation.