An English woman’s routine eye exam becomes a nightmare

An elderly lady from Northwich, Cheshire, 51, blamed her age on her propensity for naps and sleepiness. However, an eye examination for the same condition turned out to be much more frightening. After more than four years without having her eyes examined, Alison Haspell made the decision to have a standard examination. The optician saw a bulge behind her eye and recommended that she go to an eye hospital for more testing.

A meningioma, a benign tumor measuring 5 cm, was discovered during CT scanning. Although Alison had not shown any overt symptoms, she had been napping a lot and felt forgetful, which she chalked up to being in her fifties. She is presently recovering after a 14-hour operation at the Royal Stoke University Hospital to remove the non-cancerous tumor.

Customer service representative Alison is grateful that she was able to have an eye exam at last. If she hadn’t had a normal eye exam, she feels that she would either have passed away or be on her deathbed.

Scott, Alison’s 54-year-old spouse, oversees ground maintenance. In addition, he noted that she was quieter than normal and that her behavior had changed in a way that suggested dementia. She was also dealing with daily panic episodes. She said that she used to restrict things to only her age since she would forget anniversaries and other important dates. She now thinks the tumor is to blame for these symptoms.

During Alison’s eye test in October 2023, the optician saw edema and made the decision to send her to the hospital. After five days, Alison got a call telling her to get to Crewe’s Leighton Hospital. She received a diagnosis of the tumor there, along with a prescription for drugs to shrink it before surgery. Even though Alison had a large tumor, she did not have the usual symptoms like headaches. According to Alison, the absence of traditional symptoms poses a risk since it makes the illness harder to identify.