In 2006, three Lincoln eye doctors decided to give away free lasik surgeries to three worthy contestants. The response was so great they decided to do it again this year and Sarah Hahn is really glad they did.
This year's gift of sight campaign got started back in September. Doctors Sutton, Linder and Sutton of Lincoln had more than 200 nominations for free lasik surgery. They narrowed the field to 10 and in the end, they had nearly 3,000 on-line votes from all across the United States and from 17 countries.
One of the lucky 3 top vote getters was Sarah Hahn. Patrice Hahn says life hasn't always been easy for her daughter, "Not maybe being able to afford glasses when she's needed glasses, those times are behind her."
As a single mother, Sarah has to work 2 jobs to keep food on the table for her 6 year old daughter Reanna. Recently she and her daughter had to move back in with her parents when times got tough. Sarah says, "I hardly get any child support so i would never be able to afford it myself."
Sarah was due for a break and Dr. Vince Sutton gave her one. Dr. Sutton says, "It's something we and our whole staff really enjoy and look forward to."
Sarah says, "I hate wearing glasses, I've never been able to wear contacts, they just don't feel comforable in my eyes."
Sarah's mother feels her daughter is very deserving, "Even as a child, she always takes things as they come and she tries to work through every situation, every problem. She's a great mom and we love her a lot."
As the surgery got underway, Patrice was hopeful, "I know this is going to change her life."
When Dr. Sutton and his partners first started having people vote for their favorite contest on the company website 2 years ago they didn't know what to expect, "I think it was beyond our dreams and so we learned from that that it's something that everyone likes to follow, they like to help."
Sarah had her surgery performed on tuesday and the very next day shewas back and better than ever, "Awesome, I can honestly say I can see more clear than when i was wearning glasses...It's amazing."
Going into the surgery Sarah's vision was 20/150, the very next day she checked out at 20/15.