I was pretty nervous about having surgery on my eyes because, well, they’re my eyes! But I felt like I was in good hands at Hoopes Vision! Dr. Hoopes was really friendly and he made feel comfortable and relaxed. The surgery was fast, simple, and not painful at all. I had PRK and the recovery was easy; it was just a matter of remembering to use my drops!
Having PRK was one of the best decisions I ever made. Sometimes I just sit back and think, “Wow, I can see everything with MY eyes, not through contacts or glasses.” After getting the surgery, I felt free! I don’t have to worry about not being able to see or losing a contact when I swim.
I am also an MMA fighter, and my first fight since my vision correction surgery was in January. I was so happy to look out at the crowd and actually be able to see all of the friends and family who came to support me. I felt more comfortable than I ever had before during warm-up and walking to the cage because I could see everything that was happening so clearly. I am so grateful I had PRK, and got the results I did. It was one less thing I had to worry about in my fight and it made a world of difference – and yes, I won!
Kaytlin Neil
MMA Fighter
The Interview – Set up
Getting the right shots
Kaytlin is a MMA fighter, fitness buff and personal trainer. She studied at Utah Valley University and recently graduated with a bachelors in Health Education. Kaytlin brings brains, beauty, and a dominant fight style to the scene of women’s mixed martial arts. Here are a some interesting things about our favorite MMA fighter.
My friends took me to some MMA fights my first year of college. I thought it looked cool, so I started training.
In my early experience I thought I was a rock-star until I sparred for the first time and got punched in the face. I went home bawling after practice that day and had second thoughts about my love for the sport, but sucked it up and went back to practice the next day.
Before I did an MMA fight my coaches had me do a few grappling tournaments and two muay thai fights. I asked my coach before my second muay thai fight that if I won my fight if I could finally do an MMA fight, things went well and then I stepped into the cage.
1-Anything can happened at anytime in any fight.
2-Humility is a must.
3-No one deserves to beat you.
4-You are never done learning.
During my first year of college when the Hunger Games books were popular, my friends said I acted like Katniss because I would kind of just run around and do whatever I wanted. They called me Katnip (Katniss’ nickname in the book). Then when the movie came out I actually looked like Katniss, so it was settled.
Winning my first MMA fight.
Half of the time I am fighting, the most ridiculous thoughts are going through my head. Most the time, they have absolutely nothing to do with fighting. Like what I am going to eat after, if my outfit looks ok, or what my mom is thinking, etc. . .
Stick with it.
Everyday I’m alive.