Susan Scott is a local artist and patient of Dr Dawn Bearden at Visionary Eyecare (The Indepenedent Doctor of Optometry Next to Lenscrafters) in Pembroke Pines.  She had previously always had a problem finding an eye doctor who could address all of her creative and artistic visual needs.

One day she was having problems doing an art project and her friend, Evelyn (who is an artist and a patient of Dr Bearden) recommended that Susan go to see Dr Dawn Bearden.

This is Susan’s story…

While Susan and Evelyn were doing an art project together  -  Susan had THREE pairs of glasses in front of her and still seemed to be having difficulty seeing what she was doing.  None of the glasses seemed to meet her artistic visual needs.  She felt that she just could not find an Eye Doctor that could give her a prescription that would allow her to see clearly enough to create her art.

After Susan was recommended to Optometrist,  Dr Dawn Bearden, from her friend, Evelyn, she realized that Dr Bearden is ALSO an artist.  Evelyn originally met Dr Bearden Evelyn because Evelyn was teaching Dr Bearden how to make stained glass art at her store – Glass By Design.  Dr Bearden is also passionate about photography.  Dr Bearden started taking pictures around age 12 when she was in middle school, she had minored in Photography in College and also had recently attended the Ft Lauderdale Art Institute for Photography.   For as long as she can remember – Dr Bearden has ALWAYS had a camera in her hand.  Susan felt a connection with Dr Bearden because she felt that they were both artistic and creative individuals.   She felt at ease because she knew that THIS particular Doctor would understand her specific visual needs.

After the eye exam, Susan was very happy with the thoroughness of the eye examination.  She FINALLY received a glasses prescription that met ALL of her artistic visual needs and she was impressed that the Doctor answered all of her questions in a very clear manner in which Susan could completely understand.

Susan recently moved to Washington, DC – BUT, she still plans yearly trips to South Florida so she can come to Visionary Eyecare and see Dr Dawn Bearden for her annual eye exam.

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The above video is from EyeMaginations and gives a great description of what Cataracts are:

Cataracts are a normal and common part of the aging process but, they do not have to interfere with your lifestyle.   A cataract is a cloudiness of the crystalline lens inside of your eye.  As your lens gets cloudier, your vision will gradually become more blurred.

The human eye may best be compared to a camera.  When you take a picture, the lens in the front of the camera allows light through and then focuses that light on the film in the back of the camera.  When the light hits the film, a picture is taken.  The eye works in much the same way.

In  youth, the crystalline lens of your eye is clear and allows light to pass through.   Light is focused by your cornea and your crystalline lens onto a thin layer of nerve tissue in the back of your eye called – the retina.   Your retina works like the film in a camera.  When the focused light hits the retina – a “picture” is taken and sent to your brain.

While a dirty camera lens blurs a picture, any significant cataract or cloudiness  in your crystalline lens will blur the images that you see.

When a cataract becomes significant – your vision can become quite blurry.  It is suggested if your vision drops below 20/40 or so….then it is common to be told to see an eye surgeon to have cataract surgery.

This surgery involves taking out the cloudy crystalline lens (cataract) and replacing it with a clear implant.  Often your surgeon can even do a calculation that can place your current eyeglass prescription into the lens implant.  The result after the cataract surgery can be much clearer vision and often there is no need for glasses after the surgery!

For more information – see your local Optometrist or  Dr Dawn Bearden or Dr Anna-Kay Tenn in Pembroke Pines 954-430-3808 or Sunrise 954-851-9949 for your yearly eye exam and they will be happy to discuss cataracts and cataract surgery options with you!

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Starlene Carter came into Visionary Eyecare (Next to Lenscrafters) in Pembroke Pines in January 2001.  She was in the area and decided to stop in to schedule an eye examination for herself the following week.   She was not intending to get an eye exam that day – her plans were to spend that day shopping!

Our Office Manager, Carol Marsh, was there that day and convinced Starlene to go ahead and get her eye exam that same day since the office was not busy and the Doctor (Dr Dawn Bearden) would be able to see her right away.  Starlene agreed but, was insistent that she would NOT have her pupils dilated that day.  Her shopping was waiting and she did not want to “mess up her day” with that “dilation thing”.  Carol told her that the Doctor would talk to her during the exam about the importance of dilation.  Still Starlene would just not be convinced….

When Starlene met Dr Bearden for the first time – Dr Bearden began to explain and stress the importance of pupillary dilation.  Dr Bearden  explained that this was Starlene’s  first eye exam in our Visionary Eyecare office, there could be a multitude of eye diseases or problems that Starlene may be unaware of (because most eye problems do NOT cause any symptoms like blurry vision, headache, eye pain etc) and that Dr Bearden may NOT be able to detect these issues if Starlene did not allow the Doctor to dilate her pupils.  Dr Bearden also explained that Florida laws requires your Optometrist to dilate your pupils on the initial eye exam when you have an eye exam with a new Optometrist.  Reluctantly…..VERY reluctantly….Starlene finally agreed.

This simple decision absolutely saved Starlene’s vision.

During the eye exam, all seemed very normal.  Starlene had no family history of eye disease, she was able to see 20/20 in each eye with her new glasses prescription, she had NO eye pain, NO headaches, NO discomfort, her eye pressures were normal, her blood pressure was normal, good color vision etc.  But, when Dr Dawn Bearden dilated Starlene’s pupils – she saw 2 very LARGE retinal tears (retinal detachments) in Starlene’s right eye that posed a HUGE threat to Starlene’s vision in her right eye.  These tears could have eventually caused blindness in her eye had they not been detected during the dilation and then properly treated.

Immediately,  Dr Bearden called Dr Jay Levy – who is a local ophthalmologist who specializes in surgery of the retina.  Dr Bearden sent Starlene to see Dr Levy – who did surgery on Starlene’s right eye to repair the retinal tears in her right eye.

Starlene is now a loyal patient of Dr Dawn Bearden’s. She is still able to see 20/20 in each eye and has had no further problems from the retinal tears that were surgically repaired by Dr Levy.  Each and every year during her routine eye exam with Dr Bearden, you can find Starlene out in the waiting room telling her story to ALL of the other patients in the office.  She does a GREAT job in educating people and everyone that she comes in contact with about the importance of yearly eye examinations and the VITAL importance of pupillary dilation.

It saved Starlene’s vision…..and it can do the same for you and for the people in your life who come in for their annual eye exam!

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Scott Nelson had been a trusting and loyal patient of  Visionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines  for over 10 years.  Earlier this year he even recorded a public Video Testimonial for his Eye Doctor – Dr Dawn Bearden – which appeared on YouTube, our blog and our website.  Tragically, on Tuesday September 29th on the 10pm news,  Channel 7’s  reporter – Nicole Linsalata – reported that Scott and his wife (Julie) were found shot in their home in Pembroke Pines.  During the news report – they aired clips of Scott’s Video Testimonial for his Optometrist (Dr Bearden) that they found on YouTube.

According to the news report by Channel 7 – Scott’s 18yo son, Andrew, called police around 330am saying that someone had broken into their home and that his parents had been shot.  Scott and his wife were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital where he was listed in critical condition and his wife was listed in serious condition.

The news report stated that Scott fell in love and married his next door neighbor (Julie) on the 4th of July of this year.  Friends said that he was a wonderful friend and a happy newlywed.

Dr Bearden clearly remembers Scott to be a very sweet, caring and loyal man.  She was shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic news of her longtime patient.

Sadly, the Broward edition of the Miami Herald reported that Scott died from his injuries on Friday Oct 2nd.

This case is still under investigation and if you have ANY information – please call Broward Crime Stoppers (www.wsvn.com) 954-493-TIPS.

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From The Health And Wealth Website

Did you want to learn how to use Social Media (Facebook, Blogging, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn etc.) in order to create an enormous presence online….which will in turn,  build your business?? Do you have a website now but, it is not getting a lot of hits or attention from Google??    Do you want to learn how to rank high on Google for FREE?? Social Media (when used properly) can help!

If you are in the Ft Lauderdale area on July 18th – you can come and hear Dr Dawn Bearden speak at the Health and Wealth Annex to get more educated about this subject.  Learn how to harness the POWER of the INTERNET using FREE Social Media resources.  The 2 day weekend event will be held at the Ft Lauderdale Hilton Marina and is only $149 (valued at $995). 

Click HERE to register (Use Coupon Code DBEARDEN).

The Health and Wealth Annex is all about “Igniting Your Life and Feeding Your Passion”.

Speakers for the event include:

Robert White - author and keynote speaker on The Power of  Extraordinary Results in Organizational Leadership, successfully handling rapid change, entrepreneurial success and being more personally effective

David Naylor – will teach you how to their Inner Passions and get on a path of reconditioning themselves to Live an Extraordinary Lifestyle. He finds ways to have people look at their lives in a different way to discover and take on their passions in life, and getting themselves out of their own way.

Andy Henriquez – creator of The Fundamentals of Real Estate Wholesaling course  – learn how to find properties, analyze potential deals, attract buyers, and get to the closing. The course is simple and easy-to-follow and has been designed to assist you in getting your very first wholesale deal.

Errict Rhett – former NFL player will speak on Perseverance and Excellence. He is the CEO of both Errict Rhett Custom Homes and The Errict Rhett Foundation, which was originally founded in Cleveland, Ohio and supports the provision of affordable housing.

Dr Dawn Bearden – Local Broward County Eye Doctor / Optometrist from Visionary Eyecare  (3 Independent Doctor of Optometry Offices located next to Lenscrafters in Pembroke Pines and Sunrise / Sawgrass Mills Mall and Pearle Vision in Davie)  and educator specializing in Harnessing the Power of Social Media Marketing and Networking

Frank Polancic - Author  of  “Why Wait?  Create Your Soul Mate Now”.  He will speak about about using the Law of Attraction in finding your Soul Mate

Gustavo Pinero – will educate you about Transforming Your Mind Around your Health – the dynamics that the mind and food have on healing.  Gustavo is a Seminar Leader, Coach, Visionary, Healer, Medical Intuitive, Advocate for Synergy between Eastern and Western Medicine, Board of Trustee Member for Students of Medicine.

Lee Clark -  As a life coach he specializes in guiding clients in discovering their passions via a Passion Test, defining career options and furthering the Discovery of their Life’s Purpose.

Michael Kennedy - from Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC  speaks on Creating Your Own Environment in Corporate America

Click HERE to register (Use Coupon Code DBEARDEN).

The Health and Wealth Annex offers a FREE copy of Napolean Hill’s “Think And Grow Rich” book when you subscribe to their Free E-Newsletter (E-Zine).  Click HERE to subscribe.

To Register:

CALL 877-HW-ANNEX

Registration Code: DBEARDEN

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A Visual Representation of the Visionary Eyecare Blog

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words!!

And sometimes that picture is made from a thousand words…..

Here are some visual representations of the Visionary Eyecare Blog from Wordle.

It visibly shows that our blog talks about the Eye, an Optometrist, an Eye Exam, Pembroke Pines, Sunrise,  Eye Dr,  Contacts, Dr Dawn Bearden, Dr Emily McCulluh, Dr Anna-Kay Tenn, Lenscrafters, an Eye Doctor,  Vision, Eye Care, Eye Health and more….

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Just by scanning one of these images – a reader can immediately get a feel for what the Visionary Eyecare Blog is all about!!

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Ask Dr Dawn Bearden… or any Eye Doctor or Staff member at Visionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines or Sunrise….and they will always tell you that having an annual eye exam is very important.  But why?!?!???

Is it because your eyeglasses prescription changes every year and you need to get new glasses?!?!??!  Well, often the prescription can change from year to year BUT, there are MORE IMPORTANT reasons to have your eyes checked annually.

Martha Stewart recently interviewed Optometrist, Dr Rhonda Robinson, about annual eye examinations.  Dr. Robinson explained that the reasons to have an annual eye exam change as a person goes through each life stage.

Babies (6mo to 1 year old) need to have their eyes examined to screen for lazy eye, any visual system developmental problems and eye health issues like tumors inside of their eyes.

School age children need to have their eyes examined yearly for another important reason – for a child around 80% of learning is accomplished through vision.  Yearly exams can help determine if they are using their eyes together vs using one eye more than the other.

We are in a new age where the visual demands of children and teens are being stressed in completely different ways – iPods, cell phones, computers, Blackberries, MySpace & Facebook, texting….the list is endless.

Even SMALL changes in a prescription can make a  HUGE difference in visual comfort.

Adults need to have a yearly eye exam to ensure good eye and systemic health.  The majority of eye medical issues DO NOT cause any visual problems or blur…eye health issues like glaucoma, retinal holes and tears, tumors in and behind the eye etc  may be completely asymptomatic.  A comprehensive eye exam can also help detect systemic problems that you may be unaware of – like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis, brain tumors and more…

Adults around 40 and over usually experience near vision blur called Presbyopia.  Now there are a multitude of options to help correct Presbyopia and give clear near vision while reading – reading glasses, multifocal/bifocal/progressive eye glasses, multifocal/bifocal contact lenses.

Its important for seniors to have yearly eye exams to help detect eye health changes associated with aging – such as cataracts, glaucoma and age related macular degeneration (ARMD / AMD).

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Dr Dawn Bearden regulary  “tweets” (writes posts on Twitter) for Visionary Eyecare in South Florida under the Twitter screen name “VisionaryEyes” (@VisionaryEyes).   Dr Bearden connects with numerous eye and health experts on Twitter from around the globe to bring you the most up to date and cutting edge information in eye and health care news.

When you follow @VisionaryEyes on Twitter you will always find interesting “tweets” about eye health care, eye health tips, inspiring quotes, health news, any new blog posts that were recently posted on our blog (www.VisionaryEyecare BLOG.com), real time conversations with local South Floridians, eye related trivia, Twitter Tips and much more!!

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Click the Twitter Logo...

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Twitter is the FASTEST growing social network in history. According to Mashable – The Social Media Guide (@Mashable), Twitter has grown a staggering 1382% in the past year.  In January 2009 alone, Twitter grew 50% in ONE month.  Wow.  This is a POWERFUL social media platform for those who understand how to harness its power.

Most people have the perception that Twitter is for people tweeting about what they ate for breakfast….this is NOT what Twitter is all about.  You can connect with people in your local community or all around the globe who are experts in fields that you may be interested in learning about.  People like Robert Kiyosaki (@TheRealKiyosaki), Donald Trump (@DonaldJTrump), Oprah (@Oprah), Anthony Robbins (@TonyRobbins), Larry King (@kingsthings) and more…all tweet regularly.  Its truly a wealth of knowledge.

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If you’ve never checked out Twitter….go to www.Twitter.com/VisionaryEyes and check it out.  Maybe you will even decide to jump in, give it a try and start Tweeting – its a lot of fun and very educational!

Chances are ….you’ll soon get hooked!

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Tweet! Tweet!

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Dr Florian Safner, Dr Dawn Bearden, Dr Ross Goukler and Rhonda Kratz - RVP of Lenscrafters

In March, Lenscrafters held its annual “Summit” in Nashville, Tennessee for the company’s top executives and leaders.   Dr Dawn Bearden not only manages 2 Independent Doctor of Optometry Offices Next to Lenscrafters (In Pembroke Pines and Sunrise) but, she also serves on the Lenscrafters Optometric Advisory Council.  Dr Bearden was invited to the Summit along with other leading Eye Doctors affilitated with Lenscrafters.

Lenscrafters, who’s new brand story is “Lenscrafters Loves Your Eyes“, recognized several leaders of the company. Those who received awards had delivered above and beyond exceptional service and had a positive impact on the company, their peers, customers, patients and the public.   Dr Bearden was honored with one of these few distinctive awards.

Dave Reaves, VP of Lenscrafters and Dr Dawn Bearden

Here are some excerpts from the award:

What does someone who creates a Mind Blowing Patient Experience look like to me?

For those of you who don’t know her, she is an amazing clinician, entrepreneur and a Guru when it comes to using the internet for promoting eye care.

Spend two minutes on her website and you’ll be emotionally connected to her, her practice, her patients and her cause: educating the public on the importance of preserving sight.

This individual provides a consistent and a thorough eye exam experience that keeps her patients coming back year after year.  Which is great news, especially in those cases when her drive to deliver a consistent and thorough eye exam turns out to be life saving too.

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  Lenscrafters Summit Recognition Award

This is a story that is connected to this Doctor’s strong leadership.  Not only did she provide life-saving care to her patient, she then used her website and her blog to educate her peers and the public about the importance of annual eye exams with her story about her patient, Judy.

Judy is now this doctor’s patient for life and an advocate for the importance of annual eye exams.

We encourage you to go to the Visionary Eye Care blog and see Judy tell her own story…in her own words…its a beautiful thing.

This is a fantastic example of a Doctor who loves annual eye exams, loves eyes and most importantly loves life!!

That is what delivering a Mind Blowing Patient Experience means.

Dr Dawn Bearden and Executive VP of Lenscrafters, Frank Baynham

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Brian Regan shares his hilarious interpretation of his experience during his eye exam with his eye doctor…

Funny stuff like…

• How can instantly improved vision NOT be at the top of your To-DoList?!?!?
• How to end up with big thick “Coke Bottle” glasses…
• Do You Like Number One or Number Two…..???
• Eye Exam Anxiety
• In the Eye Exam Room….Dark and Alone With the Eye Dr
• Trifocals…

From Dr Dawn Bearden and the entire Visionary Eyecare team (in Pembroke Pines and Sunrise) to you…….ENJOY!!

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