Serena has been volunteering since she was very young. Now she is president of the Oasis Italia Onlus, an association operating in Burkina Faso, where Serena spends most of her year. Every project aims to raise social and healthcare standards by means of simple but effective activities.
When Serena contacted SERI Lugano, her need was to eliminate glasses not so much for aesthetic as for functional reasons. That part of Africa does not receive much rain, and when there is water it is rationed. Earth and dust are always in the air, and for Serena it had become a real challenge to cope with it. When she wore glasses the lenses were constantly dirty; when she wore contact lenses the dust in the air penetrated underneath the lenses causing extreme irritation. In her free time in Italy, Serena is a serious dancer, an activity that affords her rich emotions and deep satisfaction.
“Since the operation I have felt even more keenly the call of my two great passions: Africa and dancing. Missions in Burkina Faso are difficult, but at least now there is no doubt that the problems I must face are no longer connected with my eyes, which were beginning to become unmanageable. And then there is the dancing. With lenses I could not see all that well, and often they would shift right in the middle of a difficult sequence.”
Serena had two dioptres of hyperopia and different astigmatism in each eye, with half a dioptre in one eye and two-and-a-half in the other. Dr Pinelli opted for the Femto Lasik X-tra technique, which uses only light to modify and reinforce the curvature of the cornea. Femtosecond laser, excimer laser and ultraviolet light for a non-surgical intervention without surgical instruments, scalpels or stitches.
“One of the Oasis Italia Onlus slogans is “There are many things in life that capture your gaze, but only a few that captivate your heart… Choose them!” Well, I think this sentence is perfect for the operation I underwent in Lugano, and above all for the team that accompanied me with Dr Pinelli on this new and wonderful adventure. I felt I could trust them from the outset!”