Thanks to surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital, JJ Savani has had his vision restored in one eye and stabilised in the other, but this is only half the story – his life has been completely transformed. He tells his story for the first time in a new book and, as a thank you, JJ is giving all author profits to Moorfields Eye Charity.
JJ, who helped out in a hairdresser’s as a teenager, had a successful career in the NHS, heading up a learning and development team. His vision gradually deteriorated, though, until he woke up one morning with one eye “a complete blackout”, the other one blurry, thinking “my night out wasn’t that heavy.”
His optician gave him an urgent referral to Moorfields.
Sight loss had a dramatic effect on JJ. He said: “I won’t dress up what that period was. I had a full mental breakdown and needed specialist support, including supported housing. I shut out my family and my friends. It cost me my home, my relationship at the time and my business.
I shut out my family and my friends. It cost me my home, my relationship at the time and my business.
“The second operation was the turning point. My sight came back quicker, and, for the first time in a long time, I could look forward instead of just getting through the day. The problem was, all I knew was corporate training. But hair had been in my life since I was a boy — my mum was a beautician, and the salon she worked in had a barber’s shop on the top floor, where I’d worked as a Saturday boy. Out of the blue, someone paid for me to attend a course at the London School of Barbering — anonymously; that gift changed everything.
“I’m still partially sighted, and I’m sensitive to intense light. Bright lights and my eyes have an arrangement — the shades are the treaty. I’ve worn them for twenty years under the brightest lights of an industry that gave me my life back.
“This book is the first time I’ve ever explained the sunglasses, let alone opened up about my mental health. Moorfields gave me their expertise, their determination — and hope. Donating every pound of my author profit to Moorfields Eye Charity is the least I can do.”
JJ has worked his way up from earning £100 a week, through renting a chair to working with celebrities during major fashion shows, splitting his time between India, Dubai and the UK. His salon is in his hometown of Wellingborough. His celebrity work began when, out of the blue, rapper Divine contacted him after seeing his Instagram.
He has been named among the top 100 international stylists worldwide at the BTC One Shot awards, shortlisted in the top 5 British barbers by Wahl Pro UK in two consecutive years and listed by GQ among its most influential style icons in 2023.
Dan Gore, consultant ophthalmic surgeon
Dan Gore, one of a Moorfields team that pioneered the use of a femtosecond laser in corneal surgery said:
“That an operation taking two hours can have such a dramatic effect in helping him turn his life around is really humbling to hear."
“We were able to offer immediate corneal cross-linking (CXL) to the left eye to try to slow down the progression of his keratoconus, but the right cornea was too thin for this.
“To restore the vision in his right eye we initially performed a corneal transplant using a femtosecond laser which restored his vision back to above the driving standard. Unfortunately, the left eye continued to deteriorate, despite the CXL, and JJ decided to proceed with the same laser-assisted corneal transplant on the left eye.
“For JJ, the laser was used to improve precision; we were able to apply the laser to a level of accuracy within a hundredth of a millimetre when transplanting the cornea. This made the operation safer and reduced the longer-term risks of transplant rejection. Recovery still takes time, but he’s had a great result and his vision should hold for decades to come”.
Robert Dufton, Moorfields Eye Charity chief executive, said: “JJ’s story is one of extraordinary resilience, generosity and skill. Everyone at the charity is deeply inspired by his journey and achievements.
“The world-class care and treatment he received from Dan Gore and the team were instrumental in allowing JJ to rebuild his life. By generously donating the profits from his new book, JJ is helping us fund ground-breaking innovations in eye care that will transform lives for generations to come.
“We offer our heartfelt thanks to JJ and wish him continued success.”
Interview with JJ Savani and Dan Gore
Watch our short video of an interview with JJ, telling Dan his story, and Dan giving his response to hearing about his part in JJ’s recovery for the first time.
video transcript
So at the peak of my career, I was a corporate military trainer, working for several years with South Assets Partnership Trust. My vision was deteriorating, but obviously because it was so gradual and slow over that time I never really noticed it. Until one day I had severe side loss. It was then that I was given a referral to Moorfields, and from there I had my first surgery in 2017.
I really thought everything I'd worked for throughout my career had just collapsed. It just felt like everything had been taken away from me, in that short period of time whilst I was in recovery.
And from then my mental health suffered really badly where I was in crisis housing for months, refusing to see family during that whole period of time. Then coming into 2018, I'd lost my father. I was in a relationship at the time, which had collapsed, and I just suffered a full breakdown.
But when I look back at it now, it was a blessing in disguise. It was like a rebirth, because it allowed me to just reflect and see the people who supported me, and try and get myself back on my feet.
After numerous checkups with Moorfields, and the team there that were excellent. They actually said, 'it's recovering quite well, we think you'll be eligible to now start doing the left eye'. So then I agreed to go ahead with that one.
I didn't know where to take my life until one day I randomly got a call, and an email, from London School of Barbers saying you're starting a course on Monday. I thought they had probably sent it to the wrong person. And then the next day I had a delivery of tools sent to me. I thought 'something's not right'. So I rang the London School of Barbering and they confirmed I was due on a course. I told them 'I can't afford to pay this, I don't know what's going on'. Somebody had actually paid for my course, my tools, my kit. To this day, I don't know who it is.
I was still under the care of Moorfields and gradually, over time, my vision was coming back, amazingly. So, I went through the course paid for etc, and then slowly started rebuilding my life back together. Where I thought I'd lost everything, I'd lost all hope, it was almost a new lease of life for me. I actually did not feel like I was working. I felt like I was earning money doing something I love. Life changing.
I would not be where I am if it wasn't for Moorfields. So, for the last nine months I've been working on a book. Every single penny that this turns over is donated to Moorfield's Eye Charity.
[Dan Gore, consultant ophthalmic surgeon reading JJ's book dedication]
To Daniel Gore and everyone at Moorfield's Eye Hospital. You gave me back the light. This book and everything in it exists because you did your work first.
It's emotional hearing and it's emotional reading that.
It's heartening and it's really encouraging, ultimately, to know that, at least from my perspective, what is normal routine care can have such a dramatic benefit to someone's life.
An operation that takes two hours can have that amount of an impact is really extraordinary to hear. But nonetheless, to hear JJ's story in this detail, and after a number of years. To hear what he's managed to achieve, and to hear from the lows, from where he was, it's really great to hear.