'I went in for an eye test, and the staff saved my life'

Diane Bailey-Greaves visited her local Vision Express as she was not seeing as clearly as she normally does – but staff at the Mander Centre site found some abnormalities and sent Diane away with a letter to her GP as a 'matter of urgency'.

After visiting her GP, Diane was immediately referred to New Cross hospital after she was found to have suffered a stroke.

The 69-year-old said: "I started my examination as any normal exam. I also opted for the additional test of the eye scan, and I will be eternally grateful to Hema the optometrist, she saved my life really.

"I had been suffering from blurred vision. Upon seeing some abnormalities in my right eye, Hema gave me a letter to take to my GP on an urgent basis. That was quite concerning at the time.

"I took the letter to my local surgery and saw my GP who immediately referred me to hospital."

Diane had two tests: one to check if she had had a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) which is a warning that someone is at risk of having a full stroke, and an MRI scan.

She was then informed by a neurologist working at the hospital that she had suffered a sub-acute left occipital stroke, and was warned of an onset homonymous hemianopia – a condition that can cause loss of vision in either or both eyes. She is now receiving treatment.

A former document controller at engineering company Ansaldo in Ettingshall, Diane lives with her husband of two years, Adrian. The couple do not have any children.

Hema Patel, who has worked as an optometrist for 13 years, says it was a pleasure to work with Diane.

She said: "She was such a lovely lady, she basically came in with concerns to do with her vision. After doing multiple tests I thought there was something wrong, so I wrote a letter for her GP. Diane was so lovely, grateful, and understanding, and she was calm even when we were talking about potential problems in the body. She was a pleasure to work with."

Hema added that the eyes can often be a giveaway to problems in other parts of the body.

She said: "A lot of the time, something can show up in the eyes that is an indicator of something that is going on in the body. With Diane, this prompted me to think there was something more going on."

Diane hopes her experience will encourage others who are worried about their vision to get checked.

She said: "Have your eyes tested before it is too late.

"Hema saved me. The neurologist said this had happened to me very recently. I shall be taking some flowers into the branch to say thank you to the staff, to whom I am eternally grateful for their excellent service and gratitude."