Clear vision can be life-changing for those with limited access to eyecare.

$5 can provide an exam & pair of glasses to someone in a developing country, and that can transform the life of a child or adult living without access to basic eye care.  Optometry Giving Sight has numerous stories of how eyecare can change a life–from an adult who was able to work for the first time, to a boy from the school for the blind who is now succeeding in regular school–all because they had correctable but previously untreated vision conditions.

Just stop in our office and use your mobile phone’s facebook app to “check in” and claim the deal!  There’s no cost to you.  If fact, we’ll have a small gift for you when you do.

You can also donate $5 to Optometry Giving Sight yourself by clicking here!

(Our facebook page is facebook.com/completeeye)

Like our facebook page and get special benefits

Complete EyeCare Center has a facebook page.  You can find it at www.facebook.com/completeeye 

So what?

People who “like” our page will have some unique opportunities.  Right now, they have the abilty to request appointments online.  There’s also a place to write a recommendation.  Soon there will be special deals for our facebook fans when they check-in to our page.   Sometimes each check-in will result in us making a contribution to a charity!   Occasionally there will be a random drawing with a prize for one of our facebook fans. 

So if you’ve got facebook, you’ve got privileges with potential benefits–to yourself and others!

See the entire Koali, Oga and Lightec collection. One day only!

On Saturday, March 26, 8 AM -1 PM at Complete EyeCare Center you get…

Fifty-off fun fashionable frames

Tasty Tazza Bella treats

(& you could win a $50 gas card!)

 See the new collection of Koali, Öga & Lightec frame designs for men & women at our annual Trunk Show.  Each spring we bring in the entire collection of one of our favorite frame lines.  It’s a chance for our staff and our patients to get first dibs on the latest frame designs.

Besides the expanded selection, you get $50 Off all glasses or sunglasses purchased on March 26th* & you’ll be entered  to win another $50 in gas. Or you may win a prize from HyVee, Family Video or Subway!

All prescriptions are welcome & this offer extends to your family and friends.  Stop in Saturday and see how your eyewear can not only help you see better, but look better!

  *  $50 savings is on a complete pair (frame and lens purchase) of any prescription eyewear we carry.  This special cannot be combined with other discounts or vision plans.

The World Sight Day Challenge is a campaign coordinated by Optometry Giving Sight to raise funds for projects that provide vision care, local training and infrastructure support for people who are blind or vision impaired due to uncorrected refractive error – simply the need for an eye exam and a pair of glasses.

Our practice will raise funds for the World Sight Day Challenge by matching the first $500 donated to this cause throughout the month of October.

Please join us in helping to give sight to people in need by making a donation of any amount.  It’s easy to do.  Just stop in our office, or donate online by clicking here.  Sponsor Us

Together we can help transform lives. Here’s just one example:

Nlando was helped by Optometry Giving Sight

9 year old Nlando lives in a township in South Africa where the average family income is just $7 per day. Nlando struggled to see clearly until she received an eye exam and pair of glasses thanks to the support of  Optometry Giving Sight. Having new glasses will enable her to learn at school.  Because education can lead to freeedom from poverty, her future is likely to be much brighter.

Find out more about Optometry Giving Sight’s World Sight Day Challenge at www.givingsight.org.  (You can see a video of a young man who had spent years in a school for the blind, and is now studying engineering in a regular school because his vision problem was corrected by a pair of glasses!)

Tozal is one supplement for Macular Degeneration approved by Dr. Olson

June is Vision Research Month.  The American Optometric Association website features an excellent summary of one of the most important vision research findings in recent years.  Because of the AREDS studies Dr. Olson recommends supplements to certain at-risk patients.  The AOA article follows:

In the last 20 years, eye health research has linked diet and nutrition with a decreased risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). A major clinical study of older adults concluded that taking an antioxidant vitamin or mineral supplement significantly reduced the risk of advanced AMD progression in some people. Additionally, today there is significant evidence that vitamin D plays a role in preventing AMD.

AREDS Made it Clear

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) was a major clinical trial sponsored by the National Eye Institute. It enrolled 3640 subjects, age 55 to 80, and was released in October 2001. This landmark study provided evidence that nutritional intervention in the form of supplements could delay the progression of AMD. The study concluded that taking an antioxidant vitamin or mineral supplement reduced the risk of advanced AMD progression by about 25 percent and showed a 19 percent reduction in visual acuity loss in some of the subjects.

The Case for Lutein and Zeaxanthin

It was not clear in the original AREDS report which vitamin, mineral or combination of nutrients was responsible for reducing the risk of AMD. When the study was planned, the lutein and zeaxanthin carotenoids that constitute the macular pigment were not assessed because they were not commercially available. Since then, several studies have provided growing evidence specific to the beneficial role of lutein and zeaxanthin intake, and their positive effect on eye health and AMD risk reduction. The AREDS Report No. 22 published in 2007 described the relationship between dietary intake of various nutrients and AMD among the AREDS subjects. This report concluded that high dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin is associated with a reduction in the risk of geographic atrophy, advanced AMD, and large or extensive intermediate drusen, the waste byproducts of cellular metabolism (activity).

New Study Builds on Long Term Nutrient Benefits

A follow up to the original AREDS trial, AREDS2, began in June 2008. This multi-centered, five-year study builds on a multitude of existing science supporting lutein and zeaxanthin’s role in maintaining healthy eyes. It is the largest human clinical trial to evaluate lutein, zeaxanthin, and omega-3 fatty acids supplementation, and includes 4,000 patients at high risk for AMD. The study is focusing on the protective effects lutein (10 mg/day), zeaxanthin (2 mg/day) , and omega-3 fatty acids (1 g/day) have against AMD, as well as the link between nutrition and macular pigment optical density, cataract development and visual function.

Vitamin supplements selected by Dr. Olson for appropriate content and quality are available through Complete EyeCare Center–either in stock or direct-shipped to your home.  Call 319.385.9534 for an evaluation with Dr. Olson, or to inquire about whether you may benefit from these products.

• Tozal Eye Health Formula (To order Tozal online click the link and use rep# 24894 to complete your purchase.)
• Omega Max
• Viteyes Advanced Formula
• Viteyes AREDS Companion
• Viteyes Smokers Formula
• EyePromise Restore (To order EyePromise Restore online click the link and use referral doctor #10246 to complete your purchase.)

An 1881 political cartoon depicts Guiteau, assassin of President Garfield.

An upcoming theatre production will feature Mt. Pleasant performers, including Complete EyeCare Center’s Dr. Christopher Olson, portraying a historic court trial with Mt. Pleasant ties.   The prosecutor in the case was George B. Corkhill of Mt. Pleasant, who graduated from Iowa Wesleyan in 1859 and was District Attorney for the District of Columbia at the time of the trial.

The real-life drama entitled The Trial of the Assassin Guiteau is about the man who shot President James Garfield in 1881 and draws comparisons between the political and legal climate then and now.  Images of the times and people will be projected behind the actors and readers.  Cast members are Jim Beasley, David Edwards, John Hemsworth, Terry Hemsworth, Mark Kimzey, Christopher Olson, Lon Pugh, Angie Thomas, Kevin Wiley, Rick Williamson, and Brad Workman.  The Director is David File.

Performances will be on April 23 and 24, 2010 at 7 PM at the Heatilator Center for the Performing Arts in Mt. Pleasant.  Sponsored by the Harlan-Lincoln House, the shows are being offered to the public free of charge.

(If you would like more information about the play the Executive Director of Friends of the Harlan-Lincoln House, Lynn Ellsworth, can be reached by calling 319.385.6320.)

Stop in  Saturday, March 6th, between 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to save $50 on the full line of Kliik “eyewear with an edge,” Fysh “urban cool eyewear,” or Takumi “luxury eyewear with magnetic sunclips”purchased with prescription lenses.

We look forward to seeing you then! (Need an eye exam? Give us a call.)

All summer until RAGBRAI, buy a Rudy Project Sunglass Kit and get a free backpack or duffel, free cycling helmet, free spare lenses, free hat & free T-shirt.  The value of the free gear alone is $250, but you get it all for only $220.  On Fridays we’ll pay the shipping when you wear your official Mt. Pleasant RAGBRAI T-shirt, so you get the whole Rudy Project Gear Deal for just $200!

Free Shipping is offered exclusively at Complete EyeCare Center as part of Mt. Pleasant’s “RAGBRAI Fridays” during July.  Your purchase includes Rudy Project’s Replacement Lens Guarantee and 3-year Limited Frame Warranty.  The last day of this offer is July 24, 2009.

“Have a Blast” in Mt. Pleasant when we host RAGBRAI July 24, 2009!

Once again, the Fashion EyeWear Event was held in conjuction with the Mt. Pleasant High School Interact Club’s See-Saw for Sight on May 9, 2009.  Not only did they have fun, students were motivated by the knowledge that their efforts will help restore sight to the blind in India. The volunteers raised over $850 that will be matched several times by Rotary International.  With the matching funds it is projected that their efforts will help another 270 of India’s afflicted, who will regain functional vision for work and daily life after having cataract surgery at a subsidized outreach clinic.

After learning of Rotary’s sight-saving clinic Dr. Olson and his family suggested the first Interact Club See-Saw for Sight event and have helped organize it each year.   Complete EyeCare Center donated food, equipment, and radio time for the See-Saw for Sight event, and HyVee provided hot dogs.  This local event, held annually at Complete EyeCare Center since 2006, has already helped over 1000 people.

Visitors to the dual events in May were offered free hot dogs, popcorn, beverages, and cookies, and twelve were door prize winners.  Be watching for our next special event, to enjoy special savings, prizes and refreshments for yourself!

I’ll let you in on a little known fact.  We have an expanded selection of great sunwear right here in Mt. Pleasant, in our eyewear gallery.  Why not stop in and try some on during your lunch break today?  If you’re interested in prescription sunwear, we have that too.  (In fact, this Saturday you can save $50 on a pair of prescription sunglasses, during our annual Fashion & Eyewear Event!)

Hope you can get outside and enjoy the weather!