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I don’t remember being called “four eyes” or anything of the sort (perhaps I blocked it), but I do remember the misery of glasses in elementary and middle school. Kids sometimes like to tease and my thick lenses and bulky frames were too much fun to leave alone. By high school, I had accepted the glasses, but conveniently “forgot” them as often as I could. In the Marine Corps, I compensated for my “imperfect vision” by wearing whatever glasses or goggles they wanted me to and focusing on doing things exactly right. Now, as a police officer, I try to wear contacts when I can (which, if anyone wears contacts in a job like ours they know, is sometimes either absolutely miserable or absolutely impossible) but my glasses are sometimes necessary. It is a very true statement that my vision, not just my glasses, has gotten in the way every step of my life.
My name is Jeff Rogers, and I am a patrol officer with the Panama City Police Department. I have been with Panama City for four years. Prior to that I was with the Denver PD for a year and a half and the Lynn Haven PD for five years. In addition to my patrol duties, I am also a member of the S.W.A.T. team, Honor Guard and the department’s Marine unit.
First and foremost, I would like to thank the Eye Center of North Florida and others for sponsoring this contest. For many of us, this is the only possibility of having this surgery and the opportunity is a great blessing.
Everyone here is a hero, and everyone here would benefit from this surgery. The hardest part of this contest, for me at least, is to talk about myself. I struggle to present my case as the best one for this surgery, not because I don’t think I am deserving, but because I work every day with people who are also deserving of this prize. The fact is, we all work very hard, love the job and the opportunity for improved vision through LASIK is one we all hope for but can scarcely afford. So do I deserve this above everyone else here? I cannot answer that. What I can tell you is that it will help me immensely and it is probably very far out of reach without this prize. The needs and care of my wife and two young children will simply always take precedence over this type of elective surgery for me – regardless of how it would help me in the job. But do my struggles trying to provide for a family on an officer’s salary make me more worthy of this help than others? Probably not. If you love the job as I do, as many here do, this is simply the tradeoff you know you must accept.
Law enforcement is the only career I have ever wanted, and ever hope to have. I was brought up to give 100 percent to everything you do, and when you identify something you are passionate about to devote 150 or 200 percent to that. This is the key to happiness and success. While I certainly give my all and more to the job, as many of us do, I would like the opportunity to give more…to even more fully engage. Will LASIK surgery make me a better person, husband, father or officer? I can’t really say it will, because that is dependent on me. However, will it make life easier as I strive each day to be the best I can at each of these? The definitive answer is yes.
My name is Jeff Rogers, and I am a patrol officer with the Panama City Police Department. I have been with Panama City for four years. Prior to that I was with the Denver PD for a year and a half and the Lynn Haven PD for five years. In addition to my patrol duties, I am also a member of the S.W.A.T. team, Honor Guard and the department’s Marine unit.
First and foremost, I would like to thank the Eye Center of North Florida and others for sponsoring this contest. For many of us, this is the only possibility of having this surgery and the opportunity is a great blessing.
Everyone here is a hero, and everyone here would benefit from this surgery. The hardest part of this contest, for me at least, is to talk about myself. I struggle to present my case as the best one for this surgery, not because I don’t think I am deserving, but because I work every day with people who are also deserving of this prize. The fact is, we all work very hard, love the job and the opportunity for improved vision through LASIK is one we all hope for but can scarcely afford. So do I deserve this above everyone else here? I cannot answer that. What I can tell you is that it will help me immensely and it is probably very far out of reach without this prize. The needs and care of my wife and two young children will simply always take precedence over this type of elective surgery for me – regardless of how it would help me in the job. But do my struggles trying to provide for a family on an officer’s salary make me more worthy of this help than others? Probably not. If you love the job as I do, as many here do, this is simply the tradeoff you know you must accept.
Law enforcement is the only career I have ever wanted, and ever hope to have. I was brought up to give 100 percent to everything you do, and when you identify something you are passionate about to devote 150 or 200 percent to that. This is the key to happiness and success. While I certainly give my all and more to the job, as many of us do, I would like the opportunity to give more…to even more fully engage. Will LASIK surgery make me a better person, husband, father or officer? I can’t really say it will, because that is dependent on me. However, will it make life easier as I strive each day to be the best I can at each of these? The definitive answer is yes.
