Your World of Legal Intelligence
 United Kingdom | +44 (0) 20 7284 8080

Young woman's blurry eyesight turns out to be brain tumour picked up by Specsavers

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date26 June 2022
Certain that her discomfort was not a hangover, as she had no more than two alcoholic drinks at the celebration, she called her GP report the Express

The doctor prescribed antibiotics over the phone for an ear infection, but Ms Musgrove's symptoms didn't improve, leading her to book an appointment with the opticians.

READ MORE - Popular Edinburgh vegan cafe finally reopens in new site after being 'forced' to shut

Thinking she needed glasses, the 21-year-old visited optical retail chain Specsavers with her father on March 20, from where she was rushed to Salford Royal Hospital, in Greater Manchester, after the optician noticed swelling of her optic nerve.

Less than a day later, Ms Musgrove underwent emergency brain surgery to drain excess fluid around her brain, before undergoing an MRI the following day which revealed she had a brain tumour.

She said: "I went from having my eyes tested at 11am to having emergency brain surgery by 11.30pm on the same day."

The tumour had caused Addison's disease, a rare autoimmune disorder that occurs when the body doesn't produce enough of certain hormones, prompting it to attack its own adrenal glands.

Ms Musgrove, who said she would have died had her issue been found just slightly later, will now need to take hydrocortisone steroids for life to manage the condition but is thankful for how things turned out.

She said: "I'm glad I went to Specsavers when I did – I'm grateful to the optician and the doctors for saving my life.

"My life has been turned upside down, but it could have been a lot worse. I keep reminding myself of that."

Telling of her health journey, the Mancunian added: "I knew my headaches weren't down to being hungover because we celebrated my birthday with a quiet family meal out – nothing crazy.

"I never get headaches, but these were terrible. I thought I'd just slept funny which was making my neck hurt.

"My GP suspected I had an ear infection and prescribed antibiotics and Ibuprofen, but my symptoms didn't improve."

Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox

Heaton Park Specsavers...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT