Mum’s brain tumour inspires career choice
HOW DIAGNOSIS LED TO OPTOMETRY TRAINING
A HULL woman has described the moment her mum’s devastating brain tumour diagnosis was revealed in a bid to help others identify the signs.
As a child, Georgia Richardson, now 20, was hit with the shocking news that her mum was suffering with a brain tumour, a time in her life she looks back on as a driving force behind her new career.
Her mum’s diagnosis and treatment is a period she can “vividly remember” and later pushed her into an industry that could help others identify similar problems.
Ms Richardson, part-time optical works as assistant a at
Specsavers in Kingswood, says she aims to encourage as many people as possible to attend eye check-ups as it could potentially save their life.
Since starting out in optometry, Ms Richardson has learned that brain conditions such as tumours can be identifiable in eye examinations and can be one of the first ways to discover serious health conditions like the one her mum battled.
“When my mum got the brain tumour when I was growing up - it is a time in my life I vividly remember,” she said.
“It was sprung upon us, without warning. Little did I know before beginning my journey in optics, that brain conditions such brain tumours are identifiable in an eye examination.
“I believe people are still greatly unaware of the importance of a sight test - as part of a screening on your health, as well as whether you need to be wearing glasses to aid your vision.
“This is one of the reasons wanted to study optometry.
“I want to encourage people to bring their children for regular examinations as soon as they can communicate with an optometrist. This is so important; it can reveal such a great deal.”
Georgia’s mum, who is a police community work officer, is the primary inspiration that led her to study for a BSC degree in optometry at Aston University, which she is currently undertaking.
However, her studies are taking place alongside her work for Specsavers in Althorp Road.
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As well as her parents, Georgia also attributes her inspiration to study optometry to her store manager, James Waites.
Through her part-time employment, Georgia began her journey in optometry at the beginning of her A-levels, working with patients and optometrists daily which developed her love of the industry.
Georgia was awarded a bursary for exceeding expectations in her
first year of university and given the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers (WCSM) Bursary while studying for her optometry degree.
The WCSM bursary is awarded to successful applicants in the first year of their optometry course, to encourage students to study and make the very best of any available opportunities, which may aid funding university life and buying necessary equipment.
A HULL woman is still haunted by the death of her brother, 40 years after discovering his body when she got home from school.
Alex Sutcliffe was aged 14 when she discovered her older brother Richard had taken his own life.
The tragic suicide of 15-year-old “kind and empathetic” Richard, who had dreams to be in the RAF, is still hard for his doting sister to accept.
Reliving the event 40 years on, Alex said: “I remember being really frightened and I ran out of the house screaming. I ran to a neighbour and asked her to ring for an ambulance.
“A car mechanic that was working on her car, he actually dealt with Richard but we were told later that he had been dead for a couple of hours so there was nothing that he could’ve done to have saved him.”
The 15-year-old boy had wanted to be an RAF pilot but when he grew too tall he decided to become an RAF engineer instead.
Sadly, that day never came and the devastated family found themselves attending Richard’s funeral.
“We got the ATC (Air Training Corps) cadets to line the drive of the crematorium,” said Alex.
“A sight to behold when you’re a 14 year-old-girl.”
Her brother’s tragic death in 1981 still affects her four decades later. “I always sleep with the light and television on,” said Alex.
“If I was to cure myself of that, would that mean I have let go of Richard completely? I don’t want to do that.”
Alex shared her story as part of a new short film called Preventable, created by York’s Mek It Media duo Helen Leavey and Simon Collins.
In it, Alex can be seen looking through a box of her brother’s possessions, including his school tie and an epaulette from the ATC.
Alex is now the manager of York and North Yorkshire’s major incident response team helping people cope with traumatic events such as road accidents and suicide.
She also runs a York group for people bereaved by suicide.
York funeral director Hayley Owen, 32, also features in the fiveminute video which urges viewers to do a short online training course with the Zero Suicide Alliance.
“Every time I get a call about a suicide, I hope it’s the last one,” she said. “I feel for all families, but especially those bereaved by suicide.”
Hayley said dealing with the aftermath was not easy for professionals either, and admitted to drinking more alcohol when dealing with someone who’s taken their own life.
“It’s not just a body,” she added. “It’s a person who was breathing and walking, part of somebody’s life.”
Globally, about 800,000 people take their own lives each year and many others attempt suicide.
Mental health charity York Mind said the Office for National Statistics pointed to ten per cent of people having thoughts of suicide or self harm in the first week of lockdown last year.
A SERIES of options are “on the table” for ministers to consider to help pupils catch up on missed learning throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
From longer school days to shortening the school summer holidays, there are four main options currently being debated, as school closures continue for the majority of pupils.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson closed schools again from January 5, and education leaders have expressed their concerns over how and when children will catch up.
Home learning varies from house to house, and with some pupils not even logging on once during the past five weeks to complete their work, there are real fears the learning gap will be huge once schools do fully reopen.
Boris Johnson has said getting kids’ learning back on track is the government’s “single biggest priority” and the schools standards minister, Nick Gibb, told MPS he was “open to all ideas” on how to help pupils make up for lost lessons.
He said: “We just have to leave no stone unturned in making sure that we can help those young people catch up from the lost education.”
Plans being considered are: 1. LONGER HOURS IN SCHOOL The school day could be made longer.
Robert Halfon, chair of the Education Select Committee, told BBC News he had suggested the idea as “a serious solution for the Government to consider”.
Reports suggest education experts and volunteers can help, which would mean the extra hours would not be left to teachers to provide.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said he does not support this idea.
He said: “Research evidence shows that there are better methods to help pupils than lengthening the school day.
“The Government must filter out loud calls for superficially attractive schemes and listen to the experts instead.”
2. EXTENDING THE SCHOOL SUMMER TERM
Reducing the six or seven week school summer holidays is another option available to help children catch up.
The lengthy break could reduced to just four weeks lengthen the school term.
However the National Education Union (NEU) says plans to extend the term would require a new contract and pay deal for teachers. be to
3. REPEATING A SCHOOL YEAR
Pupils could be made to repeat the entire year.
Those in support of this say it’s vital no child misses out due to the pandemic, however parents who have “busted a gut” to teach their children while working say their efforts will be for nothing if their children will then be held back a year.
Hull parents had their say on this option on the Hull Live Family News page and the majority were in support of this option.
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) think tank has suggested it could help pupils whose education has fallen behind.
But the Association of School and College Leaders says the idea would be practical for a small number of students only.
4. TUTORING SESSIONS
Weekly one-to-one tutoring sessions could be the answer to help children who are struggling.
Launched in November, the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) is a programme designed to provide support and tutoring for schools and pupils affected by the pandemic.
The Government has pledged more money towards the scheme for the next financial year.
The DFE has not commented on the proposals, but a government spokesperson said: “We will invest a further £300m in tutoring programmes, building on the existing £1bn Covid catchup fund, but the Prime Minister has been clear that extended schools closures have had a huge impact on pupils’ education, which will take more than a year to make up.
The Prime Minister has said he hopes to have schools back open on March 8, but the date is not set in stone and largely depends on infection rates over the coming weeks.
Speaking on Wednesday during Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Johnson said the Government was “doing everything it can” to get all pupils back into school on March 8.
He was asked if he could confirm that kids would be back in schools no later than March 8, and responded by saying: “I can certainly confirm that we’re going to do everything we can.
“I know that that is the settled will of most people in this House - to get our kids, schoolchildren, back on March 8 if we possibly can.
“I will be setting out as much as we can say on Monday and then in the week of the 22nd we’ll be setting out a road map and setting out the way forward for schools.”