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“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose!” shouts Coach Eric Taylor in the television show Friday Night Lights on NBC. That’s exactly what UTSA Championship Quarterback Frank Harris and NFL player Tre Flowers thought when they chose LASIK to improve their game.
LASIK Surgeons that specialize in performance vision for athletes
Frank Harris excels at his sport, helping UTSA win the Conference USA Championship last season. But what many don’t know is Harris has severe astigmatism. Or at least he had astigmatism. He’s a star player who brought his team to the Frisco Bowl in December. But, at Clemens High School before coming to UTSA, instead of seeing clear images, they were always blurry, both on and off the field. “For years I struggled with contacts and a high astigmatism; I didn’t think I was a candidate for LASIK. When I was in high school, I didn’t wear contacts or glasses on the field. I basically just looked for the big numbers on the jerseys and threw the football to the numbers!”
“I guess I was so used to it, but some things were blurry trying to look too far,” he said. “But I was kind of used to it, so I kind of just adapted to it.”
He tried contacts but constantly had to adjust them with his fingers to make his eyeball see the football.
“As you can tell in some videos, I would always rub my eyes because they started to get a little blurry,” he said.
“You’ll often hear about the football analogy… that the eye is shaped like a football,” said Dr. Bobby Saenz, director of Parkhurst NuVision Clinic. “What it means with astigmatism… it’s basically one part of the eye is really curved and the other one is not so curved.”
Consider the requirements of a quarterback: find your wide receiver, throw the ball, and try not to get intercepted–all while the defensive line tries to sack you. In fact, a quarterback’s eyes are constantly calculating depth, distance, and rapidly moving players–all requiring quick assessments for risk and reward. Put simply, a quarterback’s ability to see drives the decisions that lead to either moving the ball down the field for a touchdown or a turnover that can cost the team the lead.
In January, Parkhurst NuVision and Harris connected and decided Lasik would massively improve his vision and up his game. Was he nervous on the field? No way! But what about Lasik?
“A little bit. But the doctors are here to take care of me. I’m in good hands and God will take good care of everything,” Harris said.
How fast is LASIK?
After less than 10 minutes of LASIK eye surgery, he was done, and just one day later, he was happy about the results. “Waking up, and I don’t have to wear anything. No contacts. No glasses,” he said. “It is just an unbelievable feeling. It’s something I’ve never done since I was about four or five years old.”
Dr. Bobby Saenz of Parkhurst NuVision told us: “I think it’s going to be even more impressive to see what he’s able to do this year since we’ve been able to treat that astigmatism and watch him have clear vision on the field.”
Frank Harris was selected as pre-season offensive player of the year for C-USA. The Schertz, Texas native made history last year at UTSA by leading the Roadrunners to a nearly undefeated season with a 12-1 record and a first-ever Conference Championship win! Harris, a former standout at Samuel Clemens High School, had his best collegiate season this year, throwing for over 2,900 yards and 25 touchdowns and winning offensive player of the year for the conference. This year, his team has an even more challenging schedule.
NFL Player Gets LASIK
Tre Flowers was a standout at Judson High School in Converse, TX, and Oklahoma State University. He went on to be drafted by the Seattle Seahawks and now, as a Safety Cincinnati Bengal he had the opportunity to play in Superbowl last year. Flowers struggled with contacts on and off the field for years. “There were so many plays that I missed just having to come off the field to fix a contact that I got a turf bead in and trying to find a mirror in the middle of the game… that’s a challenge in itself”. After hearing about Frank’s LASIK success in San Antonio, I called him and asked, “does it hurt and how was it?” He told me how easy it was and that I needed to go see Dr. Parkhurst.
“It was the easiest surgery you will ever get, way better than going to the dentist!” says Flowers.
Flowers can now see 20/15 and is looking forward to taking the Cincinnati Bengals back to the Superbowl this year!
Dr. Parkhurst also said: “I think this is going to take their performance to another level. You know, they can actually see, I think they are going to perform even that much better on the field.”
You don’t have to be an athlete to enjoy your best natural vision.
Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose…with LASIK!
Parkhurst NuVision offers several other eye procedures for those who do not qualify for LASIK. If you would like to schedule a consultation to see if you are a candidate, call (210) 585-2020.
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