Kenton optometrist’s diagnosis saved friend’s life
To complete the mentally and physically demanding Ironman triathlon (3.86km swim, 180.25km bike ride and 42.2km run) you have to be fit and healthy. So when Toinette Koumpan had headaches for days, and an issue with her vision that glasses didn’t improve, she knew something was wrong.
Getting the right help at the right time may have saved her life. Toinette Koumpan tells her story here.
In the month leading up to this year’s Ironman 70.3, I started suffering from headaches.
I’m generally healthy, so I tried drinking more water and taking headache tablets, but this made no difference.
On April 8, a week after I had successfully completed the 70.3, I booked an eye test at a Gqeberha optometrist, as I thought the headaches were caused by poor eyesight. I told them about the headaches. They diagnosed me with a lazy right eye and prescribed specs for computer viewing.
The next morning, I kept testing my right eye by covering it with my hand. I then realised it was weaker than the left eye and my gut feeling told me that computer specs were not going to help the headaches.
I realised I needed to try a different avenue for help.
I messaged my fellow triathlete, optometrist Graham Chrich, and told him about my visit to the optometrist the day before, and their unsatisfactory diagnosis.
Graham and I are fellow triathletes and we belonged to the same club when he lived in Gqeberha. He owned the Summerstrand Optometrist for many years. He has moved to Kenton but he was in Gqeberha that day and he fetched me and took me to his new practice in Kenton.
He spent a lot of time doing an optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan on my eye and then took me into the room to test my sight. After doing a few tests, Graham pushed the chair back and gave a big sigh.
I asked him to be honest and he said in his view, it was either an aneurysm or a tumour.
Graham then drove me home (back to Gqeberha). The next day, he messaged me to see how I was feeling, specifically asking about the headaches.
That afternoon (Sunday) Graham messaged me to say that he’d made an appointment for me to see an opthalmologist at 7am the next morning. He referred me to Greenacres radiology for an emergency MRI. When I came out of the MRI tunnel the radiographers asked me not to leave.
The doctor took me to a side office and said they had found a large aneurysm.
The opthamologist then called me and told me to wait in radiology.
The surgeon was busy operating and a couple of hours later he came down in his scrubs to speak to me. He said that due to the shape, size and position of the “anny” I needed to be treated by the professors of neurosurgery in Cape Town. He advised that they were arguably the best in the world.
The next morning, I got a WhatsApp from the neurosurgeon, who confirmed a date for my procedure in Cape Town a week later.
The professors successfully treated the aneurysm by placing coils and a stent in the artery.
Graham’s quick thinking, unsurpassed knowledge as an optometrist and kind decision to drive me to Kenton on a Saturday evening saved my life. His forward-thinking approach and strong relationships in the visual and medical field ensured I got an appointment with the opthamologist. Within 48 hours, Graham made decisions that ensured I was correctly diagnosed and receiving the best treatment in the world.
I am so thankful to have been given another chance for great living and thankful to have a friend and optometrist like Graham: he truly is a local hero.
Note on aneurysms
An aneurysm is a bulge in a blood vessel caused by a weakness in the blood vessel wall, usually where it branches. Blood passing through causes a small area to bulge outwards. Most brain aneurysms only cause noticeable symptoms if they burst (rupture). Bleeding caused by a ruptured aneurysm can cause extensive brain damage and symptoms. Source: https://www.nhs.uk/ conditions/brainaneurysm/
More than just a pair of specs
Talk of the Town asked optometrist Graham Chrich for comment on his role in diagnosing Koumpman’s potentially life-threatening condition. An optometrist’s bread and butter is, of course, testing people’s eyes and providing them with customised glasses and contact lenses. But because of their specialised diagnostic equipment, optometrists are often the first to detect several other serious conditions.
“We’re the first port of call for anything that affects a person’s eyes, so often we are the gatekeepers for more serious conditions,” he said.
Talk of the Town will feature eye care tips and advice from the experts in a series leading up to World Sight Day on Thursday, October 13.