Written by: Elizabeth Hunter

Posted on Jan 13, 2012

Happy New Year!

It is the time of year to make our resolutions and to decide how to better our lives. As we are testing will power and perseverance in our own lives, why not, in one more simple act, make someone else’s better.

THE EYEGLASS PROJECT is well underway and we’ve experienced an amazing outpouring of generosity from the community. We have accumulated about 700 pairs of glasses between drop locations in Hunter Vision, the RDV Sportsplex, and Northland Church. 

As we continue on this venture, we are adding some drop locations through Track Shack. If you are a runner as I am not, you can drop off any eyeglass donations at packet pick-up for all Track Shack races. As Hunter Vision proudly sponsors Track Shack, we will also have a Hunter Vision booth at all Track Shack races. If you are running or cheering or just staring in amazement that people can run so far and fast without being chased by a tiger (That’s me. I do that. While eating a churro.), bring your used eyeglasses and drop them off at our booth.

700 pairs donated and more to come! Isn’t this fun?

Written by: Dr. Joel Hunter

Posted on Dec 22, 2011

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
A bunch of super nerdy people.
The American of Academy of Ophthalmology who?
We’re nerds.

I made that joke up this year after attending the Annual AAO Meeting in Orlando. 25,000 people who spend their lives working on eyeballs all descend on a city once a year for this meeting. I am fully aware that I am one of these nerds. I am reminded of it every time I make a joke in a room full of people like, “I’ll have my Diet Coke in a bottle, because I can’t stand to use glasses!” and am met with stares of indifference and/or pity. All that to say, I love the AAO meeting because it feels like coming home.

This year, I was invited to teach a few courses. I have a couple preachers in my family and asked them, as truly excellent public speakers, how they get ready for talks. It turns out they prepare for weeks!  I decided then that I would lower my aim from “excellent” to “very good.” My favorite course was teaching people new to refractive surgery how to do LASIK. A lot of people sign up to get to do LASIK on pig eyes (you read that correctly) each year at AAO. It is really thrilling to be there and help the first time someone does a procedure that they could end up doing for the rest of their life. I remember when I did LASIK for the first time during that course. It is really satisfying to watch things come full circle.

Each year at these meetings, I’m reminded how happy I am to get to do what I do for a living. I spend between 60 and 80 hours a week looking at, operating on, or discussing eyeballs and couldn’t be more thrilled with it. It is part of what makes me think God puts some pretty specific desires in our hearts. Who would think that anyone would want to spend that much time with eyes? But I was made to be an eyeball doctor. And if that makes me a nerd, it just has to come with the territory.

Posted on Dec 22, 2011

Press Release

Written by: Elizabeth Hunter

Posted on Dec 16, 2011

Watching a community rally together for the welfare of others is a humbling and beautiful thing to behold. I feel so blessed to get to join with you in this effort.

After just the first weekend of donation collection for The Eyeglass Project, we already have well over 400 pairs. That is a lot of lives to be changed.

Thank you so much for your generosity. As we are accruing glasses donations, we are also solidifying the details of our trip to the Dominican Republic. We have our visit on the calendar for May 2012. Time to install my Rosetta Stone! TIME Ministries will be providing translators but I would at least like to be able to talk about the weather and ask for directions by May. I’m already pretty solid on my colors and animal names.

If you are interested in donating eyeglasses, we will maintain drop locations at both Hunter Vision (located in the RDV Sportsplex) and at Northland Church. In addition, Hunter Vision will have booths set up at the following events over the next week:

Joy to the World
Central Florida Community Arts Christmas Spectacular
December 16th at 7:30 PM at Northland Church
(This is an organization very near and dear to my heart. You should check them out. They are a wonderful gift to our community.  www.cfcommunityarts.com)

Light Up UCF
December 17th from 4:30 PM to 9:30 PM at the UCF Arena

Posted on Dec 13, 2011

Orlando Sentinel Blog

Written by: Elizabeth Hunter

Posted on Dec 8, 2011

In a world where we have access to all kinds of luxuries, it is hard to imagine living life without access to something as simple as sight. If we can’t see the newspaper, we buy a pair of readers. If our world is blurry, we get a new glasses prescription.

The large majority of us have some sort of refractive error that requires a simple pair of glasses to enable us to see clearly. The same is true all over the world. The difference for people that are less fortunate is that many have no access to a pair of glasses.

So there are people walking around legally blind, that require no heroic intervention to give them sight, other than a simple pair of glasses. It seems like a pretty wonderful opportunity to change people’s lives!

We started a charity called The Eyeglass Project. I know it seems ironic, a LASIK practice working to get people in glasses. 3D LASIK is amazing. I personally am a big fan of it. It provides an end to the inconvenience of glasses. But then what’s left? A pile of glasses that have lost their purpose.

Hunter Vision is partnering with TIME Ministries to bring those used eyeglasses (and any others we can get) to those who need them. We will be collecting eyeglasses beginning December 10th and will have drop boxes at two locations, Hunter Vision (located in the RDV Sportsplex), and Northland, A Church Distributed.

In 2012, a team from Hunter Vision will take used eyeglasses donations to the Dominican Republic to bring clear vision to those who don’t have access to it. But we can’t do it without your help. The donation of your used eyeglasses, something so seemingly simple, could give sight to the blind.

What do you think of being a part of this? How about telling your friends too? It doesn’t require money, just a pair of glasses that you don’t use anymore. At each of our drop locations, we will have tags for your glasses that give you the option of sharing your information with us. The purpose of getting your info is to let you see the difference that your glasses made. Our hope is to be able to send you a picture of a very happy person in glasses that were once your own. What fun!

Written by: Dr. Joel Hunter

Posted on Dec 5, 2011

Man alive, I haven’t updated this thing in a long time. It is not for lack of reminders. When I say “hi” to Kate, our Clinic Director, in the morning, she says, “You should update the blog.” She has a better grip on the To Do list than I do, either that or she just doesn’t want to talk to me in the morning. Either way, I fully intend to write blogs, then find other things that need to be done more, like answer email, or call patients, or stare out my window.

The same thing happened to me when my wife and I had our own blog for a while (www.lizzyandjoel.com). I would feel flourishes of creativity and write a few blogs, and then spend weeks wringing my hands that I had no exciting news to update. Never during this time did it occur to me that people probably weren’t sitting around biting their fingernails waiting for a new blog (“What does he think about ?!?”). But I digress, keeping a blog updated is an endeavor that is much easier in intention than in execution.

To get things caught up, Hunter Vision is growing by leaps and bounds. We are all really happy about it. I got to teach a few courses at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting this year, which was a lot of fun. Luke (my son) has learned a lot of words like “boo” “nu” and “baybo,” which are whimsical translations of “blue” “Luke” and “belly button.” He’s a pretty much a genius and I couldn’t be more proud of him. Thanksgiving was great. Lizzy made a feast for my parents and hers. I learned how gravy is made and almost barfed, but then ended up still really liking it in spite of how disgusting it is. I need to remember to stay ignorant about foods I like.

And now the blog is updated. It will definitely stay updated from this point forward. I am sure of it. Also, now that this is done, Kate is going to have to talk to me in the morning. The first thing I’ll cover with her is how gravy is made.

Posted on Oct 3, 2011

Florida’s exclusive provider of 3D LASIK has once again brought the best in refractive eye surgery technology to Central Florida with the new WaveLight FS200 Femtosecond laser.

Hunter Vision is currently the only clinic in Central Florida that has this new laser, which operates at extremely high speeds of one millionth of a nanosecond. This is designed to increase the speed and accuracy of the procedure, and decrease the risk of complications.

Founded by Dr. Joel Hunter—son and namesake of Rev. Joel C. Hunter, nationally known pastor and spiritual advisor to President Obama—Hunter Vision continually invests in the latest technology as part of its commitment to its patients.
Dr. Hunter explains, “We want our patients to have the best. That way, when people choose us, they can rest assured they’re getting unsurpassed technology and personal care.”

Not all LASIK is created equal, Dr. Hunter notes. Some outcomes are better than others, depending on many factors, including which laser and technique are used.

“That’s why we perform 3D LASIK. It combines today’s most advanced surgical technologies into a procedure that account for the things that make your eyes unique,” he says.

As a distinguished fellow at the most prestigious refractive surgery center in the world, Dr. Hunter had his choice of jobs, but chose instead to create a new and better kind of medical practice in his hometown of Orlando. People travel from different states, even other countries, to be treated by Dr. Hunter.

He concludes, “My family has served the central Florida community for more than 25 years. Hunter Vision is committed to continuing that tradition.”

Posted on Jul 16, 2011

ORLANDO, FLA. — While LASIK has been available since the early 1990s, many people still have questions about the procedure. According to Dr. Joel Hunter, founder of Hunter Vision, Central Florida’s exclusive 3D LASIK provider, following are the five most-asked questions.

1. Is it permanent? “Yes! It’s safe, and the changes that the laser makes to the cornea are permanent,” Dr. Hunter says. “It’s true that as the eye ages, the natural lens inside the eye stiffens, causing a loss of near vision. However, with the advent of ‘blended vision,’ I am able to treat the eyes in a way that will allow for both reading and distance vision without glasses.”

2. Does it hurt? “No. I have never had a patient that thought it was a ‘big deal’ after the surgery,” he observes. “Almost everyone is understandably nervous before the procedure, and everyone is relieved afterward to realize that it was easier than they thought it would be.”

3. Can it help astigmatism? “As an ophthalmologist, I can say unequivocally that 3D LASIK candidates can get rid of their astigmatism with a laser,” he maintains. Astigmatism is a distortion in the curvature of the cornea. LASIK is able to change the shape of the cornea and remove the distortion entirely. “The difference between now and 10 years ago in what LASIK can do is staggering,” adds Dr. Hunter, who utilizes the latest diagnostic and surgical equipment for SBK-LASIK and lens replacement available today.

4. Can it help reading vision? It is a great myth that there is no way to fix reading vision after the age of 40, Dr. Hunter explains. “With blended vision, we can remove the need for glasses at near and far.”

5. How much does it cost? “Despite the advertising you see and hear from discount providers, the real answer is that it greatly depends on your needs and your desires,” he notes. Hunter Vision has been deliberate about creating options for patients on a tight budget, including interest-free and traditional financing options to make monthly payments affordable enough for most candidates.

It’s not uncommon for discount LASIK providers to cut prices in lieu of investing in new technology. He concludes. “I heard a wise man once say, ‘There are two things in life one should never choose based on price and advertising: parachutes or surgeons.’ I couldn’t agree more.”

ABOUT HUNTER VISION

Hunter Vision 3D LASIK was founded by Dr. Joel Hunter, the son and namesake of noted Central Florida pastor Joel C. Hunter. When you come to Hunter Vision, you get more than a “two-dimensional” exchange, you get a holistic experience and the most exceptional treatment available. Learn more at www.huntervision.com or by calling 407-385-1620.

INTERVIEWS:
Robert Andrescik

407-588-7574
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Written by: Dr. Joel Hunter

Posted on Jul 7, 2011

You can’t open a LASIK magazine (yes, they make those) or a practice management journal without reading about Facebook. Social media is how you reach the young people, they’ll tell you. If you’re not using the Facebook, you are missing the best way to talk to your target demographic. The young people.

It is fine advice. I get where they are coming from. The problem is that social media is a social media. And social settings have rules for normal interaction. If you go to a Christmas party and try to sell Amway, you are going to be more disliked and pitied than the guy that accidentally on purpose stands under the mistletoe all night. There’s little room among friends for lots of ulterior motives.

Hunter Vision joined Facebook in July last year. It’s become clear over time that it is a good place to cheer for someone when they are happy about their vision, but a bad place to explain in detail the difference between SBK and LASIK. It is a good place to connect with friends we’ve made, but it is nails on a chalkboard for people to hear “like us on Facebook!” We’ve learned that a business can’t be friends with people, only the people that work there can do that.