Eye test discovered I had brain tumour,saysmum
A WOMAN was diagnosed brain tumour which threatened to kill her within six months after an eye test at her local opticians.
Michelle Crawford, 44, from Lanark, experienced almost no symptoms at all, aside from a slight blurriness in one eye while wearing contact lenses.
The mother-of-two received life-saving treatment in 2015 to remove the tumour after optometrist and store director of Specsavers in Lanark, Rubena Kerr, referred her to Hairmyres Hospital.
The meningioma grade one tumour, located at the front of Michelle’s brain behind her left eye and thought to be around the size of an orange, was so rare, a number of surgeons and specialists from hospitals across Scotland gathered to observe her surgery and monitor her recovery.
Ms Crawford said: “It took a few months for me to book an appointment at Specsavers as I didn’t think the blurriness in my eye was anything serious.
“Rubena was really thorough and helped me try out different contact lenses to see if that would fix the problem.
“After a few appointments, I happened to mention that the problem was only at the side of my vision in my left eye and that I was also having a problem with things appearing too bright. After conducting a visual fields test, Rubena referred me to Hairmyres.
“I expected the appointment to be a few weeks later but when I found out I had to go the very next day, I started to worry something seri- ous might be wrong.”
A CT scan detected the tumour and eight weeks later, Ms Crawford underwent a 15hour operation to have it removed.
The case has been highlighted to coincide with the beginning of National Eye Health Week.
Bestselling crime writer Ian Rankin is backing a campaign to encourages Scots to get regular eye checks.
It comes after his most recent routine eye test last year revealed signs that could be a precursor to macular degeneration.