Ralph McMurray

“Before this journey began, I had no symptoms, never suffered head aches or, blurred vision. There was nothing to indicate to me that anything was wrong”.

For a number of years I had been buying “off the shelf”‘ glasses to help with my reading. For nearly a year, I had been noticing “floaters” and a ‘light’ in my right eye periodically but I hadn’t really it paid much attention. Then, at 66 years old, with some prompting from my family, I decided to have my first ever eye test.

During the eye test at my local Opticians, Wardale Williams  the optician identified a “Detached Retina” and was concerned as there was evidence of an older detachment which looked as though it had repaired itself. He contacted my local hospital and requested an urgent referral.

I was seen by my local hospital the next day and had numerous examinations, scans and x rays and I was told that I was being referred to a specialist clinic, Moorfields Hospital.  A couple of weeks passed and after further numerous tests at Moorfields I was informed that I had a large rare tumour called ocular melanoma. Various treatments were explained to me, but because of size of the tumour it was decided that I would have my right eye removed.

From my personal perspective, having never had an eye test, It has made me wonder if I had left it any longer what my situation may have been. I cannot emphasise strongly enough the importance of eye examinations in the early detection of numerous illnesses especially Ocular Melanoma. It really could save your life.