Left Hand Laurel: Dr. Neka Hafezzadeh
BY LIZ EMMETT-MATTOX
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When she was about four years old, Neka Hafezzadeh decided she wanted to be a doctor. Unlike many children who change their career aspirations as often as their favorite color, Hafezzadeh stuck with her childhood vision as she went through Niwot schools all the way from kindergarten at Niwot Elementary to graduating from Niwot High in 2001.
When it came time for college, Hafezzadeh stayed close to home and enrolled at CU. Her interest in medicine never faded and while she was a student at CU, she worked for an optometrist and found that she really loved it.

When she graduated, there were no optometry schools in Colorado, so she obtained her medical degree at Indiana University. But she always knew she wanted to come back home so she returned to Niwot and joined The Vision Centre, an established optometry practice in Longmont.

In optometry school, her rotations focused on different aspects of ocular disease. She learned that diabetes is the number one cause of preventable blindness. Uncontrolled fluctuations in blood sugar affect the blood vessels throughout the body.

Because the eye is the only place where these blood vessels can be easily seen, regular eye exams can serve as an early warning system for diabetes patients. Hafezzadeh explained that if an eye exam reveals damage to the blood vessels in the eye, the patient may need to see their primary care physician and ensure that their blood sugar is being managed adequately.

Because November is Diabetes Awareness Month, Dr. Hafezzadeh decided to offer free eye exams to uninsured diabetic patients throughout the month. “I thought about doing a medical mission trip, something like Doctors Without Borders, but
I wanted to help out closer to home. I realized there were plenty of people in my own community who weren’t getting the help they needed.

“I want to help educate the community on the importance of regular eye exams. I see young patients 30 or 40 years old who already have vision damage as a result of diabetes. And it could be prevented.”
When asked if her career was anything like she imagined as a child, Hafezzadeh said, “It’s more than I expected it to be. I really enjoy the time I get to spend with people, getting to know them and their families.”

She enjoys the pace of work at the Optical Centre better than her time spent at a retail shop. “There the managers were pushing the docs to see more patients. Here I see fewer patients per day, but I get to know them better and can do a more thorough exam.”

For more information contact Dr. Hafezzadeh at The Optical Centre, 521 Main Street, Longmont, or by phone at 303-772-6650.