A remarkable story has come to light involving a former teacher, an eye test and urgent action which averted the severe risk of the patient suffering a stroke.
The retired teacher from Tyneside, a regular visitor to her opticians, lost the use of her left eye twice in a matter of days having never really suffered a problem previously. Instead of waiting, Molly made an appointment to get her eyes checked very quickly. Having described the problems that she was having, she was immediately referred to her local hospital with suspected amaurosis fugax. This condition is a transient monocular visual loss. In layman's terms this is when the retina receives a lack of blood, albeit sporadically, but is a symptom of a forthcoming stroke. A stoke itself is due to a disturbance in the brain's blood supply, which can be down to a lack of blood flow, blockage or hemorrhage.
Following her quick thinking, as well as her opticians, Molly was seen quickly at her hospital where she was given drugs to begin the thinning of her blood as well as others to address her cholesterol levels, both factors in impending strokes. Fortunately, she has now recovered her sight, and her overall condition is now back to normal following her shock news.
Glasses On Old Book by Jim Mahoney (Image)