Ripon opticians save man’s sight

After waking up on a holiday the area with blurred vision, John Morgan, from Worsley, Salford, discovered he could be losing his eyesight, following an emergency eye exam at a nearby Specsavers store.

Mr Morgan was urgently referred by the Ripon team to Harrogate Hospital, which quickly revealed he had Central Retinal Vein Occlusion (CRVO) - a dangerous blockage in the main retinal vein, the condition can lead to a permanent loss of vision.

“Thankfully, because I was diagnosed so early, there is a chance I can save my eye and maintain some vision,” said Mr Morgan.

“I may not fully get all of my vision back, however if undiagnosed, I could have completely gone blind in that eye.

“The team at Ripon Specsavers were fantastic and got me in for an appointment straight away and even organised my hospital appointment.

“Alexander Pickering, who was on a work placement and conducted the pre-test, initially scanned my eye and flagged an issue with my Optician Caroline Sullivan straight away.

“All members at the store were incredibly supportive and quick to react.”

After the shock diagnosis, the 67-year-old is now looking to raise awareness about the importance of regular eye exams.

John had been experiencing mildly blurred vision in the days leading up to the holiday, however he thought he was just getting used to his new glasses.

After waking up unable to see, John knew something sinister was happening and called the nearest Specsavers store and was booked in for an emergency appointment a little over an hour later in Ripon where OCT optical technology was used.

Following his first injection last month, the Ripon store transferred John to his local Manchester Eye Care Hospital, where he will now need one injection every month for the next year.

“My experiences show how a routine eye test can help diagnose other worrying health issues and I’d urge everyone to book in an eye exam, no matter how small they feel the problem may be,” said John.

Annette Duffy, Director at Specsavers Ripon credits the OCT optical technology and the staff expertise they have at the store for John’s diagnosis.

She said: “We now use OCT machines in many of our stores, which use light to take more than 1,000 images of the back of the eye and optic nerve.

“These machines can locate issues before they become a major issue and help detect diseases such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and even tumours.”