Aug. 27, 2025

This piece is sponsored by Vance Thompson Vision.

Since the fourth grade, Autumn Namminga’s life has been kind of a blur.

“I started realizing I had bad vision,” she said. “I was actually in church, and I couldn’t read the screen up front. It’s not like it was always just a little fuzzy. It was immediate, like I couldn’t see anything.”

Through grade school, she found a temporary solution in glasses, but they struggled to keep up with her active lifestyle.

“My glasses would always slide down my face,” Namminga said.

That inspired her to switch to contact lenses, which she said were a big step up but came with drawbacks of their own.

“When I would sweat, it would drip into my eyes. With contacts, it would burn so bad. When I was on the basketball court and somebody hit me in the face, my contact would move or fold.” 

As her frustrations with glasses and contacts continued to build, so did her concerns about the financial cost.

“They were just inconvenient,” she said. “I knew that the cost of contacts was going to start adding up, and I was just tired of it.”

Tired of paying the price for a temporary fix, the now 20-year-old Namminga decided to invest in a permanent solution. “I said, ‘You know what? I’m just going to get LASIK.’ I’ve heard great things about it.”

During her checkup at Dakota Vision, her doctor strongly recommended she look into LASIK at Vance Thompson Vision.

“I only live about a half-hour away in Beresford, and I have heard good things,” Namminga said.

That recommendation, combined with some positive word of mouth, helped inform her decision.

“If I were to have problems, it’s super-close. I don’t have to drive super-far away to get help.”

During her first visit to the clinic, she said everyone, from the staff to the surgeons, exceeded their glowing reputation.

“They were always offering snacks and drinks, which is super-awesome, and everybody was nice,” she said. “Even though they see so many people throughout the days and weeks, they never treated me like a number. It felt like they cared.”

She added that through her initial consultation to post-op, both her optometrist and ophthalmologist made her journey a smooth one.

“They worked as a pair, and they both knew what was going on. I was never asked multiple questions. They were on the same page.”

When it came to the procedure, Nammiga describes it as “quick and easy.”

“They put numbing drops in your eye, and then they lay you down. They hold your eye open, the laser comes through and snips it a little bit. Something goes in and digs out whatever makes your vision bad. They laid the flap back down, and then it almost looked like he was taking a little paintbrush and just smoothing it down. It lasted around five to seven minutes. And then they moved to the other eye.”

The results were apparent the moment she stood up after the procedure.

“I could already see better than what I saw before without contacts,” she said. “I walked out of that place with my sunglasses on, and I was looking around, and it was crazy — mind-blowing.”

Life only improved from there.

“Within two to three hours, I could see way better than my contacts had even gotten me,” Namminga said. “Now, I’m at the best vision possible.” And that’s vision that’s able to keep up with her active lifestyle. “If I get hit in the face during basketball, I no longer have to go searching for my contacts.” 

Because Nammiga received LASIK at such a young age, she’s less likely to experience significant changes in her vision related to aging such as presbyopia.

Months removed from her procedure and with her 21st birthday around the corner, Namminga said she can’t help but look at life on the bright side.

“Things do feel much brighter — and they did warn me about that, but I don’t see it as a bad thing,” she said. “If I see the world as a brighter place, heck yeah!”

That’s a perspective she’d gladly wish upon anyone seeking clearer vision. “I’ve recommended it to so many people,” Namminga said. “I would do it again if I could. I’m honestly sad that I don’t have to go back for any check-ins because I really liked seeing all the people there.”

If you are wondering if your vision could be better or want to find out if you are a candidate for LASIK, call your eye doctor or learn more through a consultation at Vance Thompson Vision. To schedule, call us at 605-361-EYES (3937).