Friends and Fans of PBV

This is our wall of "Pride" - We are incredibly proud of our Friends. Our pride stems from so many truly amazing people choosing and trusting us. Piedmont Better Vision has never solicted or paid anyone to have a vision correction procedure.

Megasuperstar Elton John continues to wear outrageous eyeglasses but the frames have been filled with clear glass for almost three years. Sir Elton regularly donates previous prescription spectacles for the benefit of causes such as the AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta. Visit http://www.eltonjohn.com/

We love to watch young Atlanta Hawk Josh Smith. His slam dunks and overall play are exciting fans all over the US.

The amazing Greg Maddux had LASIK mid-season 1999 and pitched a 8-1 victory against the Red Sox less than 48 hours after his procedure

We tend to "side" with managers Bobby Cox and Ned Yost about whose outstanding vision we can attest

Tim Simpson is a real life hero; from PGA champion to the devastation of Lyme disease and now returning to the tour. We are proud to be a part of Tim's PGA re-debut.

We miss the clutch post-season play of Mark Lemke. Everyone is thrilled with Mark's all season performance as a Braves announcer and commentator

We also miss the glove and bat of Jeff Blauser

It has been our priviledge to know Brian Vahaly from his University of Virginia days to his stardom on the professional tennis circuit. Please visit Brian and his amazing "Return of Service" foundation at www.brianvahaly.com

Colonel Sergeant Major (ret) Eric Haney is the "real deal". A founding operator of Delta force, the author of Inside Delta Force and now, the writer, producer, and technical advisor of the new and widely acclaimed CBS series, The Unit. Please visit http://www.erichaney.com/

We are huge Calvin Pace fans. Not everyone knows that this Arizona Cardinal is a local Atlanta guy.

We are enormously proud of our friend Lt. General Bob Hails (USAF Ret) who has flown EVERYTHING supersonic in the Air Force fleet

Where is Chief Noc A Homa when we need him most?

From 1951-1953 Joe "the toe" Davis kicked for the Auburn Tigers. Yes, you will recognize his holder in this photo as the University of Georgia's Vince Dooley.

We love waking up to Holly Firfer's voice on Dave FM in the mornings, and seeing her on CNN when she anchors

You may recognize Wilbur Fitzgerald from his many roles on TV and the big screen, including the recent "Glory Road" and "We Are Marshall". You may also recognize the extra glimmer in his eyes that gives him 20/20 vision

Add one more to the list! I found out yesterday that I was accepted to Air Force Pilot Training, thanks in no small part to the PRK procedure I received from you last year. I have one more year of school before graduation, then on to pilot training—from there, who knows!

Thanks so much for the help and excellent treatment, and anyone who asks about PRK will definitely be referred to your practice.

"I can't stop smiling all day"

I have been considering having Lasik eye surgery for quite some time. After wearing contact lenses for 34 years, I became increasingly frustrated with my eyes always looking bloodshot from the irritation of a minute particle getting on my lenses, my contacts tearing when I would take them out at night, and not being able to wear them in the pool, ocean or while doing any water sports.

I have gone to 4 major Lasik centers in the last couple of years for consultations. These were all Lasik eye centers that were heavily advertised on the radio; using key marketing phrases such as..."the most accurate surgery"..."the doctor that all the eye doctors go to", etc. Each time I left the consultation feeling nervous and anxious about the surgery.

At each of these 4 consultations I did not get a chance to even meet the doctor that would be performing the surgery. The consultation was always with another doctor in the group that would not be doing the Lasik eye surgery. Every time I asked a question it was answered with the reply, "You'll have to ask the doctor that on the day of your surgery!" Whenever I asked a question, the "consulting" doctor would say that I needed to get on the "surgery calendar" and my questions would be answered before my scheduled surgery.

At the other Lasik centers, the focus was not to individualize a treatment plan for my surgery; the goal was just to get me to have surgery. The dollars spent on advertising were used as a recruitment strategy for getting a high volume of patients into the centers for consultations to schedule surgey.

At my last consultation 2 months ago at a leading Lasik center in Atlanta, I was told that the doctor operates on 4 patients at a time from 8:00am until 3:00pm. Four patients are schedule at the beginning of each hour and the doctor meets with all 4 patients in the waiting room to answer any questions they may have. Then, one by one, each patient enters the operating room for their surgery.

This "factory style" Lasik eye surgey seemed to be the common theme with all the Lasik eye centers I had been to.

I spoke with my regular eye doctor, Steven Keith, at Towne Lake Eye Associates, asking for a referral for a Lasik physician. Dr. Keith stated that from all of his follow up with patients who have had Lasik, the most accurate and best technology he had seen was from Piedmont Better Vision with Dr. Stephen Hamilton.

When I showed up for my consultation, I was pleasantly surprised that my meeting was with Dr. Hamilton. Not only were all of my questions answered, but the pre-operative eye exam was the most comprehensive of all the centers I had been to.

During the Lasik procedure, Dr. Hamilton talked to me the entire time to let me know what he was doing and how the procedure was going. Each eye took less than 5 minutes. I felt no pain with the numbing drops.

After the surgery, I was instucted to go home and take a nap to allow my eyes to rest and heal. Dr. Hamilton called me at home to make sure I was doing okay after the surgery to check in with me. The entire staff at Piedmont Better Vision was extremely thorough and professional!

The following morning, I could see perfectly! My eyes felt completely fine-I did not have the scratchy feeling I had right after surgery. My eyes were not dry at all. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't wearing my contacts! When I showed up for my post-op eye exam that morning my vision was 20/15.

I am going on vacation next month and I am looking forward to traveling without my contact solutions, reading glasses, prescription sunglasses, contact case and being able to find my lounge chair when I get out of the pool!

I am so thankful to Dr.Steven Keith for referring me to Dr. Stephen Hamilton at Piedmont Better Vision. I love my new freedom without contacts and glasses!!!

Dear Dr. Hamilton and staff,

I just wanted to drop a quick note and say thank you so much. After going through surface ablation, the only think I regret is not doing it sooner. Your staff was patient, sincere, and incredibly nice and knowledgable. Dr. Hamilton took the time to carefully explain the procedure to me, as well as its risks. I've never trusted a doctor so much in my life--I guess that's a good thing, because you only get one set of eyes! Thank you again for everything!

Sincerely,
A.K.

My earliest Christmas memories are of Christmas Eve. My Dad would leave the Christmas tree lights on all night, and from my room (if I scooted all the way to the end of the bed) I could just see the tree in the living room. I'd lie there and watch the tree for movement-indicated Santa was there. I always fell asleep, but I did it every year. In order to do that I had to sleep with my glasses on. Even as an adult, on Christmas Eve, I'd sleep with my glasses under my pillow so that I'd be ready when my children went to "look" for Santa.

Thanks to you, this was the first Christmas Eve I didn't wear my glasses to bed. It snowed here Christmas Eve and I saw the flakes out my window and on Christmas morning I "saw" Christmas with my children.

Thank you!

Kathy C.
Asheville, NC

Just wanted to say "thank you". It has been one year since my LASIK procedure and it has been wonderful! There's not a day that goes by that I don't notice that I can see when I wake up and that I don't need my glasses.
I am eternally thankful for your skill and talent in making this possible.

It's been just over a week since my surgery (Wednesday, 5/9) and I'm AMAZED by the difference. I'm noticing things I've never noticed before (like how the street lamp shines into my room at night -- the whole room was a soft grey before the surgery and now I can tell where the blinds are!). My eyes only very occasionally blur and my night vision appears to have decreased only slightly. I'm so very thrilled with the results and wanted to let you know before my three week appointment since this was a surgery six years in the making. I even came across an e-mail from October 2002 (a year after my initial visit) when we discussed whether it would be worth doing the surgery as two separate procedures. I'm glad we waited until the technology improved. The results were well worth it! From -8 and 8mm pupils to perfect vision....

K.L.

My son, James A.R., had LASIK surgery yesterday. I wanted to thank you and your entire staff. Everyone was so kind and helpful. God has blessed you with the knowledge and skill to perform this operation, and we are grateful. He is 31, and has not been able to see without corrective lenses since he was 10. It is unbelievable! He can see today without any help.

Sometimes you only hear the negative reviews from patients. I wanted to say thank you and to let you know how pleased we are. May God continue to bless you as you help others.

Because I am farsighted (I was wearing trifocal glasses for a number of years) I suppose I was a little more difficult to treat. One thing that I learned through the whole process was that our brains actually get "trained" to deal with the level of correction, so as a far-sighted person, prior Ophthalmologists had actually "under treated" me rather than explain that my eyes and brain would adjust over a short period of time, I were given a stronger prescription and would just be patient.

Dr. Hamilton and his staff worked with me on two occasions to evaluate my eyes before making a recommendation for treatment. They were very cautious and professional in every aspect of my treatment. I was never pushed into making a decision.

I had spoken with other Doctors who perform LASIK, all of who seemed anxious to simply get me to commit to the procedure, rather than determine if the treatment was the correct course for me. This was not
true for Dr. Hamilton and his staff.

Today, without glasses, I work extensively on a PC and Laptop, I drive at day and night, read books and the paper, wake up in the morning and see the alarm clock, and then I see how beautiful my family is. I wear non prescription sunglasses which I could never do before

I do not have any "halo" effect; I do not need driving glasses at night. Occasionally, I put on a pair of "dime store readers" to look at text that is too fine. That is the only limitation that I have experienced.

In closing, from the moment I awoke after treatment, I was grateful for the quality of my vision, the quality of life after glasses, and for the opportunity and pleasure of having met Dr. Hamilton. I hope that you enjoy to same experience.

My LASIK Experience
For someone to understand the impact LASIK surgery has had on my life, they would have to really appreciate how terribly awful my vision was before the procedure. My vision had deteriorated to such a degree that even my ophthalmologist had stopped asking me to identify the largest letter he could project up onto the wall during my yearly eye exams. According to my medical records, my vision without my glasses prior to undergoing the LASIK procedure was limited to counting fingers. For all practical purposes, I could not live my life and do the things that I wanted to do without wearing either my glasses or my contacts. (I was legally blind without them) And now, with just about a year having passed since I underwent a relatively painless procedure which took about ten minutes, I can boast of a vision that is better than 20/20. And boast I do...

A History of My Vision
I was born in 1973 and have needed to wear corrective lenses since I was about nine years old. Every year since then, when I returned to my ophthalmologist for a check-up, I would always be disheartened to learn that my vision had worsened from the previous year and that I could look forward to the joys of wearing thicker glasses. Then, in my mid-twenties, a miracle of sorts happened: For several consecutive years, my vision had remained relatively stable without much change. I realized it meant I was in a good position for corrective surgery. Of course, with surgery of any kind, there are always risks involved and the decision to have elective surgery should always be considered carefully. I discussed the matter with my mom and my ophthalmologist, the one doctor who had taken such good care of my eyes for so many long years. My mom trusted him innately, so, when he gave his opinion that I was a good candidate for LASIK, I decided to learn more about it. The only restraint my mom imposed on me was that I had to go to the specialist my ophthalmologist recommended. The reason for this was that my mom, being an immigrant from Korea, understood very little of the science behind LASIK or corrective surgery of any kind, but she had a tremendous amount of trust and respect for my ophthalmologist. With his recommendation in hand, I set an appointment to see Dr. Stephen Hamilton for my initial consultation.

The Problems with Glasses and Contacts
As a senior in high school, I was once pulled over at night by a police officer who thought I was driving drunk. When he realized that I was very much sober, he asked me why I was driving so erratically. I told him that I had been wearing my contacts since early morning and they were drying out which was causing me to blink a lot. He told me that he often had the same problem with his contacts and simply told me to drive the few short miles back to my house as safely as I could. When that happened, I was just happy that I did not get a ticket. But when I think of that incident now, it disturbs me. Wearing contacts is supposed to help a person see without the cumbersomeness of glasses. However, in my case, it reduced my driving ability to that of a mere drunk; and when peoples lives depend on a police officers ability to see clearly and to identify small objects in a life or death situation, it seems totally unacceptable that anyone should have problems with a contact lens. But they do. Those examples may seem extreme, but they help to illustrate how important vision is in our lives. Of course there are many more mundane problems which arise from having to wear glasses and contacts, and anyone who has had a reasonable amount of time with either one can tell you of them: contacts that tear when you clean them, glasses that get sat on, contacts that get knocked off your eye by a stream of water in the shower, glasses that fog up in the cold, contacts that dry out, glasses that have impossibly small screws which always seem to fall out, spending the night somewhere unexpectedly and not knowing what to do with your contacts since you have no saline solution, trying to figure out how all those scratches got on your glasses, etc. etc. etc...So when Dr. Hamilton also thought I was a good candidate for LASIK, I was more than ready to abandon all of the headaches that glasses and contacts entail. Of course I had to maintain a realistic perspective on the outcome since there was a possibility that I might still have to wear glasses to see in certain situations, like when driving at night. But this was more than acceptable since my vision was so poor and my base objective was to reduce my dependence on glasses as much as possible.

The LASIK Surgery
Any rational person would give pause at the idea that someone would want to create a corneal flap by using a microkeratome. Especially when the eye in question is yours. The idea makes you nervous, it makes you anxious, and even a little bit scared, which anyone should be before any sort of surgical procedure. However, if it is because you think it will be painful, I can assure you that it won't be. The procedure is at times uncomfortable and, unless you are hypersensitive, is not at all painful. And when you have Dr. Hamilton talking to you throughout the procedure about what he is doing and what you will experience, you will even find yourself relaxing a bit. The best advice I can give to anyone who undergoes LASIK is the same advice that my minister gave to me before I got married: remember to breathe! When Dr. Hamilton applied the laser during the procedure, I was very nervous that any movement I made would have disastrous consequences. So I held my breath. This just made me more tense, and I did not have to be. By remembering to breathe normally, you will reduce a lot of your tension. In about ten minutes, which will seem more like a blink of the eye, you will be finished with the procedure.

Life after LASIK
I am not sure how to discuss what life after LASIK has been like for me and how my experiences will relate to your experiences. I have no doubt that if you asked Dr. Hamilton, he would have more than enough examples of how people's lives have been dramatically improved through corrective surgery. But if you are wondering if LASIK can have a profound impact on how you either live or experience life, just ask yourself if you really feel that your life has been impeded or hindered in a significant way because of the fact that you wear glasses or contacts. I know my life was. And now after LASIK it is a totally different world that I am living in. It is a world in which I can interact with whatever environment I am in immediately without having to fumble for my glasses at night or go through the morning ritual of putting on my contacts; it is a world where participating in an activity I want to no longer has me hesitating over concerns about damaging my glasses or losing my contacts; it is a world where I can see something of beauty and appreciate it more knowing that vision, like life, is fleeting. Has it improved the quality of my life? Yes, more than words could ever tell.

About Dr. Stephen Hamilton
I think it is valid to mention something about Dr. Hamilton since whenever I talked to anyone who was thinking about LASIK, they would always want to know something about the person behind the procedure. They would always be interested in knowing something more about the doctor than simply his medical credentials, especially since they would be thinking about entrusting something as precious as their eyesight to him. Concerning Dr. Hamilton's treatment of his patients, I would like to relate the following story: The December after my LASIK surgery, I went to a Christmas party held for the entire elementary school faculty of the Westminster Schools since my wife taught there. I was talking to another member of the faculty who was considering LASIK. We talked about my experience, and then we discovered that we both had the same doctor. Dr. Hamilton! Our conversation then switched from all the wonders of LASIK to Dr. Hamilton since she was very interested in what I thought about him. And I told her that I thought Dr. Hamilton was unique as far as doctors go because he seemed to have a genuine empathy for his patients which I suspect he learned from personal experiences regarding his own eyesight. He really seems to understand how precious eyesight is, for himself and for his patients. And that's just the sort of person I would want to entrust my vision to if I had to entrust it to anyone.

About Me
Thanks for taking the time to read about my experience with LASIK. I wish you the best on whatever course you decide to choose for yourself, and I hope that reading all of this has been somewhat helpful to you. Concerning what I wrote, it is an accurate and true expression of my experiences and of how I feel about LASIK and Dr. Hamilton. I did not receive any compensation or payment of any kind whatsoever from anyone by writing what I wrote. I am just very happy with my own results. (Sorry if this part sounded so lawyerly, but that's what I get for being in law school!)

E. Lee,
Macon, GA

Patient Testimonials
Cataract Surgery and Crystalens

My Crystalens

I want to let you know the Crystalens implant has greatly improved the quality of my life. The lens that was put in my left eye several years ago was a great improvement for distance vision, but the multi-distance capability of the Crystalens you just put in my right eye is just amazing. I am only four weeks out from surgery and I can read the newspaper, read reports in my job, work on the computer and do many other daily functions without the need for glasses not to mention my inermediate and distance vision is perfect. There is further improvement each day as my eye becomes more familiar with using the lens. I just wish they existed four years ago when my first surgery was required. However, one is certainly better than none at all. I highly recommend it to anyone considering lens replacement surgery.

J.P.

I have worn glasses since I was a teenager. Every few years I would have my eyes checked and get a new prescription when needed. In late summer of 2006 a friend and I fishing in Apalachicola Bay by locating diving birds and then fishing under the birds. I discovered that my friend could see the birds at a distance while I could only see them when they were much closer. This was a particular problem in bright sunlight. I scheduled a visit with Dr. Hamilton who informed me that he could not prescribe new glasses to improve my vision because my problem was the cataracts he had diagnosed several years previously.

Dr. Hamilton explained the various options for replacement lenses and told me that my vision remained good enough for me to function reasonable well without surgery. Of course, surgery was the only option if I wanted to be able to see birds at a distance. This was a difficult decision for me since I was not excited about surgery on my eyes. Over the next couple of months I became much more aware of situations where my wife and friends could see things that I could not. I decided that since this condition would not get better and I would not get younger (I was 63), the time had come for the surgery.

The next big decision was what lenses to get. For me the difference in cost among the options was not really a factor since I only have one set of eyes and I use them a lot. I read all of the material that I could find related to the various lenses. I did not find my research very helpful in making the decision. At this point, I called Dr. Hamilton and told him that I needed his help in deciding which lens option to choose. I told him that it would be great to see both near and far without glasses. However, distance vision without glasses was more important to me than near vision without glasses. My thinking was that it was much easier to have a pair of glasses for reading than for the outdoor activities like fishing. I also told him that I didnt want to take any significant risk that I would not be able to see to drive at night. I had read that with some of the lenses there was sometimes a halo effect with made night driving difficult. Dr. Hamilton told me that he thought the Crystalens would be the best choice given my criteria. He warned me that in order to see well up close I would have to retrain the muscles in my eyes since they had not been used in a very long time. He indicated that this would take a lot of work on my part and even with the work I might still need glasses for close work.

In November Dr. Hamilton put in my first Crystalens. I was really happy that after all my agonizing over eye surgery, it didnt hurt at all. More importantly, I could now see really well with my new bionic eye. It was amazing to me how much difference there was between the repaired eye and the one that had not been repaired. Not only could I see hugely better, the colors I now saw with the repaired eye were bright and sharp. The other eye now seemed to be looking through a slightly hazy off yellow/green lens. I had not been aware of how poor my vision had been.

In December Dr. Hamilton put a Crystalens in the other eye. I was delighted that my distance vision was now a little better than 20/20 and I had none of the halo effect that I had feared at night. However, I was somewhat disappointed that my vision up close was not good enough to read without glasses. Dr. Hamilton encouraged me to avoid relying on glasses if I ever wanted to be able to read (or tie on a fish hook) without them.. I found it very frustrating trying to read without glasses since sometimes I could focus pretty well and sometimes I could only see blurry print. After a couple of months, I began to see improvement. Over the 5 months since my surgery, my near vision has continued to gradually improve. I can now read the newspaper pretty comfortably without glasses and I can tell that my near vision is still improving.

I was referred to Dr. Stephen Hamilton by a good friend who insisted that "Dr. Hamilton saved my vision -- he saw the problem that no one else had been able to see. He's a genius!" At that time, I was discouraged. I had undergone cataract surgery on my right eye by another physician, resulting in both visual and cosmetic complications. Then I met Dr. Hamilton, and my hopes rose. After examining my eye, he said, "I can fix this -- this will be fun!" And fix it he did. After performing successful pupil repair surgery plus a yag laser "touch-up" on my right eye, my vision improved tremendously and the appearance was normal again. I was, of course, delighted.

Then, a few months later, he performed cataract surgery on my left eye, a procedure that I would classify as even less stressful than a routine trip to the dentist. In advance, he told me everything to expect, and once the procedure began, he explained, step-by-step, exactly what he was doing and what I would experience. Throughout the brief procedure, he made every provision to ensure my comfort. I left the surgical center that day without a bandage and with no discomfort whatsoever. That evening I cooked dinner, read the newspaper, checked my e-mail and watched a little television. Family and friends were amazed, but I had come to expect such results from Dr. Hamilton.

In follow-up care, Dr. Hamilton always seems delighted that I am doing well; he, too, assumes a vested interest in my welfare and celebrates the success of our venture. He also makes every effort to arrange convenient appointments for his patients. When I must travel to Atlanta, his staff schedules my appointment at a convenient time for my travel into and out of the city. For most appointments, I have been able to see Dr. Hamilton in Athens, which cuts my travel time in half.

I would have to agree with my friend that Dr. Hamilton is absolutely brilliant. He is indeed a superior physician. Beyond that, however, he is an admirable human being. He travels each year to foreign countries to spend a week doing cataract surgery for the needy. He is the neighbor we would like to have, the kind of man we'd like our daughters to marry. As an English teacher, I tell him that if he were my student, I would give him an A+ and add a smiley-face sticker. He's simply the best, and I am grateful.

Anita L.

Patient Testimonials
Corneal Transplant

I wanted to thank you and your staff for the wonderful care I have received since becoming a patient of yours over the past year! "Thank-you" does not measure up when considering a person's sight restoration. As you are aware, after having Corneal Transplant Surgery, which was skillfully performed by you on each eye, I can say that my vision has been restored, and my quality of life dramatically improved!

I must admit that to have the surgery was not an easy decision for me. However, I am thankful that I chose you and your practice for the procedures. The surgery was virtually painless and my vision substantially improved immediately after the procedure. Your skills were obviously demonstrated by the quality of the results. It is an understatement to say " the excitement" I have to be able to see once again!

Please allow me to compliment your staff and the efficiencies of your office as well. Having had 12 years experience as a Vice-President over customer service for a Fortune 500 Insurance company with 2,000,000+ clients, I do understand the challenges for delivering consistent, quality service. Your staff has exceeded my expectations! Each follow-up appointment has been on-time (something many practices do not understand) and I have always been greeted professionally with genuine concern and support.

Choosing an Ophthalmologist for corneal transplant surgery is something anyone with my condition would take very seriously. Again, there are many choices, and I am more than satisfied that I made the best choice!

First let me say that I am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict and have been clean going on nine years. For most of my adult life which I am 45 years old now I have worn hard contacts. Ten years ago my eyes started to get infected every time I wore the hard contact lenses I had an eye disease known as keratoconus.

So for the next two years while being homeless and my eye sight terrible because I couldn't wear contacts I basically stumbled around not being able to work and because of my addictions not much willpower to change anything. In December of 1994 I went into treatment for my addictions and at this point of my life knew that I could no longer live my life in that way.

After being clean for about three months I was in a Life Stabilization Program. This program offered a visit to Eye Consultants to get your eyes checked. I already knew that glasses would not correct my problem but if I went they could probably help me in some way. When I went to the optometrist I explained to him of my eye disease he seemed shocked that I knew the name of my disease and that he could not help me but that there were some doctors there that could help me. This is when my life changed forever.

I met Dr. Stephen Hamilton and upon examining me he confirmed that I did have keratoconus but then he also told me that I could never wear contacts again because they would probably keep infecting my eyes. This is when he suggested that I have a cornea transplant he told me that this would probably be the best solution. There was only one problem I didn't have any insurance. This was when Dr. Hamilton told me that I could probably get Social Security Disability because I was legally blind.

I applied for the disability and my surgery was set up for June 7, 1994. I was approved for the disability and had my transplant. Dr. Hamilton decided that the left eye would probably be the best one for the transplant. After the transplant and with my left eye vision being corrected to almost 20/20 I was seeing the world brand new not only by being clean from the alcohol and drugs but also because of the transplant I could see again probably the best I have ever seen. I decided with the help of my counselors at the Life Stabilization Program and help from my Higher Power whom I choose to call God I made a decision to go back to school.

I went to school for Computer Programming I graduated top of my class Deans List and even placed second in the regional Computer Programming competition. I am now a Computer Programmer working in local government and am now a productive citizen with a little over 8 years clean and sober. I know foremost I owe it all to God for putting the right people in my life when I was ready, but I do not want to lessen the importance of the people who played a major role in my development my counselors at the Life Stabilization Program, Eye Consultants, Vocational Rehab, and the most important the person who donated their cornea so that another persons life could be lived to the best of their ability.