Sharp-eyed optician at Tesco saved my girl’s life
He spots rare tumour that could have killed in days
WHEN Karen Lee-Johnston took her two- year- old daughter to the opticians, she had no idea their world was about to be turned upside down.
Little Erika had a dilated pupil in her right eye, was vomiting, very thirsty and had regressed to crawling.
As soon as Vision Express optometrist Aaron Spears examined her, he knew there was something seriously wrong with the toddler.
Recognising she was showing classic symptoms of a rare craniopharyngioma tumour, he made an emergency hospital referral.
Later that day, the mother and daughter were at hospital, where scans confirmed it was a brain growth which could have killed her in days had it not been spotted in time. Thankfully surgeons were able to save her life, although Erika – known as Boo – faces a battle ahead with chemotherapy and proton beam therapy.
The ordeal began when Erika’s worried mother took her to the opticians at her local Tesco on March 26 after six fruitless previous visits to medics. Two days later, a scan confirmed she had the rare tumour, which is most commonly found in children. There are just 30 cases a year in the UK.
Mrs Lee- Johnston, 33, said: ‘We were waiting in a shared ward and a nurse told me she would look after Boo whilst I spoke to a doctor in a private room – at this point, I felt sick. There were a lot of nurses and doctors in this tiny room and I’m a straight-up type of person, so I said, “This isn’t good news, is it?”. One of the neurosurgeons said, “No”.’ ‘The doctor told me that she most likely would have died if we had left it another one or two weeks.’ Mrs Lee-Johnston was told by doctors at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children that while the growth – which only affects one in 20million people – was benign, its location was dangerous.
Erika had at that point completely lost her vision in her right eye and she had surgery to remove most of the tumour and try to save the sight in her left eye.
Mum-of-three Mrs Lee-Johnston, whose husband died in 2017, said: ‘Thankfully, following the surgery her sight came back in both eyes –it was a miracle. People don’t believe me when I explain what has happened to our family and I suppose it is quite extraordinary, but it could happen to anyone. Her future won’t be easy but she’s alive and has her sight – Aaron saved her life.’
Erika, thought to be the world’s youngest sufferer of the cancer, is due to start her first cycle of chemotherapy to reduce the growth further. She will then be able to have a less risky form of surgery through her nose, which leaves no scar.
Erika’s mother, from Glasgow, is sharing her story as part of National Eye Health Week.