Scary True-Life
A trip to Specsavers was lifesaving for me!
Holly Worswick, 24, from Macclesfield
Popping a couple of Paracetamol, I knocked them back with some water. ‘Are you OK?’ my mum Helen asked.
‘Another headache,’ I said. ‘You’ve been getting a lot recently,’ Mum said, looking concerned. ‘Maybe you should go to the doctor.’
I was sure it was nothing to worry about.
But I took Mum’s advice and booked in to see my GP.
‘Are you on the pill?’ the doctor asked, and I nodded. ‘Which one?’
‘It’s the combined pill,’ I told him.
‘That’s known for giving headaches,’ he said. ‘We’ll swap you for the mini pill.’
He handed me a prescription, and that seemed to be that.
But after switching, my headaches still didn’t get any better though.
‘Maybe you’re not drinking enough water,’ Mum said.
I upped my intake, but it made no difference.
Then my vision started going blurry, too.
I’d always worn contacts, but for my 21st birthday I had laser eye surgery.
Since then, my sight had been perfect, and I had regular routine check-ups.
Only, alongside the headaches, my vision had started getting worse again.
I wondered if my eyesight was going back to the way it had been before the surgery.
Better to be safe than sorry, I thought, so in February 2021 I booked an appointment at my local Specsavers store.
‘See you after,’ I said to Mum, heading inside while she did some shopping in town.
I was called in, and the optician did the normal eye test as well as an OCT scan.
As she stared at the results on a screen, she frowned.
‘Excuse me a moment,’ she said, and she went outside.
I could see her talking to a colleague, brows furrowed. Then she came back in. ‘You might want to ring your mum to come back,’ she said. I started to feel nervous, but I did as she said.
When Mum was there, the optician turned to us and I suddenly felt nervous.
‘You need to go to straight to A&E,’ she said.
‘Why?’ I asked, confused.
‘Your optic nerves are severely swollen,’ she said.
Mum drove the five minutes to Macclesfield Hospital, and my mind was whirring.
‘I have no idea what this could be,’ I said.
‘It could be anything,’ Mum replied. ‘There’s no need to worry at the moment.’
Because of Covid, Mum had to wait outside, so I went into A&E and handed over a letter the optician had given me.
I was taken off for an MRI and CT scan.
Then I was left hanging around. Finally, a doctor approached me, asking if I was on my own. ‘My mum’s in the car,’ I replied.
‘I think you need to get your
