Eyesight is the most important sense that a human possesses. You absorb the world around you through the signals that your eyes send to your brain. Like with all of your bodily functions, there is someone who knows exactly how eyes work and how to fix problems with them. The Medical Explorers club got to meet with one of these people in their last meeting. Opthamologist Bill Witt presented what a normal day is like for him.

Ophthalmologists have the chance to make a huge difference in someone’s life. After his own vision problems were resolved by an optometrist, Witt described his mission in life is to change it.

“My first experience with a doctor was with an optometrist and he took me from a blurry world to seeing things again that I never knew existed,” Witt said. “That impact lasted with me through my life and I realized that was an area that would make a difference for people. I wanted to help others the way he helped me.”

Witt described the diversity of the eye problems that patients come in with. A patient could come in simply seeking a solution for dry eyes, and then next thing that happens a man comes in with an object impaled in his eyeball. These varied circumstances can take a serious toll on the medical personnel unless they have something to distract them from what they have seen while working.

“You need to have a hobby or an interest that will let you recharge your batteries on a daily basis,” Witt said.    

Witt did not start out wanting to be in an Optician setting. He started out looking to be an engineering major at K-State and slowly learned to thoroughly enjoy the medicinal studies of the eye.

“I think there are people who know what they want to be, I was not one of them,” Witt said.

The key part of Witt’s presentation was audience interaction. He brought in multiple devices and materials that he works with on a daily basis. He showcased his confidence in what he works with by letting students put an anesthetic eyedrop in his eyeball to watch it dilate. He then let a student take the pressure of his eyeball.

“I loved that he was so comfortable letting us do that,” sophomore Rain Raite said. “it really shows that he has a lot of confidence in us.”