Omagh Specsavers save a man’s life

“I had been suffering headaches for years, and my vision was getting blurrier and blurrier. I had simply resigned myself to needing glasses, so I booked an eye test in Omagh. This test ended up saving my life: It turns out that I had a life-threatening blood clot on my brain.”

These are the words of Steven Jackson, who will not only be celebrating a 50th birthday with his family in Omagh next month – he will also be celebrating his life.

Just six months ago, Steven’s life was plunged into uncertainty after a routine eye test with Specsavers Opticians and Audiologists, Omagh, which showed concerning swelling behind his eye.

Emergency appointments and medical investigations in the days that followed with specialists at Altnagelvin Hospital diagnosed the swelling as a potentially-lethal intracranial hypertension – a huge buildup of pressure, due to excessive fluid on his brain caused by a blood clot.

Without treatment, Steven says he would be dead.

While the 49-year-old recalled being ‘plagued’ by ‘continuous headaches’ for years, the severity of these findings was, understandably, a major shock.

“I have been in front of the laptop a lot these past few months, because I’ve been working from home a lot,” Steven said. “So when blurry vision started to accompany the headaches I was having, I just thought that I needed glasses.”

That train of thought led Steven to book an eye test at Specsavers, Omagh – the optometrists that his mum, Linda Johnson, and sister, Julia Curran, who hail from Loughmacrory, use.

It was a visit that saved his life.

Optometrist Mairead O’Kane, of Drumquin, carried out an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scan on Steven. This advanced 3D eye health scan shows different layers of the retina. It can pick up bleeding, fluid build up, or underlying heath conditions, within minutes.

“Mairead asked me to wait while she looked at the scans,” Steven said. “I took it as an opportunity to choose some frames.

“However, she called me back in just ten minutes later. She said she had concerns because of what the scan showed up. There was something serious going on.”

The OCT scan confirmed that Steven had swollen optic discs: Often a warning sign of a serious medical condition needing immediate attention.

After Mairead sent the scan to a doctor at Altnagelvin Hospital, Derry, it was arranged for Steven to be seen the next day.

emergency appointment

An emergency appointment was than made with neurology, and, following several tests, Steven was admitted to hospital.

“I looked at my neurologist, Dr McCarran, and said, ‘You’re searching for a brain tumour, aren’t you?’” Steven recollected.

“He replied that it ‘could be a possibility’.

“Everything goes through your mind, then: I thought about my son, Maxwell, who was due to graduate from university, and how I would tell him my news.

“It was awful.”

The diagnosis was intracranial hypertension.

“I was booked on a flight that Wednesday after my appointment – and was probably not getting off it alive had it not been for Specsavers Omagh,” Steven said.

Following a course of blood thinning medication, Steven’s headaches have all but dissipated, and, today, his vision has almost returned to normal.

“I’m on the mend,” Steven told the UH yesterday (Wednesday).

“I’m not completely 100 per-cent, but the team at the neurology, haematology, and eye doctors are all looking after me.

“I cherish each moment now.

“There was a time when I really didn’t think that I would get to see Maxwell graduate, but now, I’m looking forward to spending my big 5-0 with my mum, sister, brother-in-law and three nieces in Omagh.

“The last six months have been a whirlwind – but I’m lucky to be alive, and it is all thanks to Mairead.”