A woman with a rare brain condition which causes her eyes to randomly “switch off” narrowly avoided tragedy on a journey from Oxford to Bristol.

Shannen Broodryk, 28, who had complained of headaches and blurred vision, said she was travelling on the M5 when she suddenly “couldn’t see.”

She narrowly avoided a major accident by managing to pull over onto the hard shoulder during her journey from Oxford to Bristol.

Ms Broodryk said she had other episodes where she was effectively blinded and claims her woes were not taken seriously enough by the medical profession.

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But she was eventually referred to an eye hospital where she was diagnosed with a rare condition, Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) - excess tension on the brain.

The condition causes the swelling of the optic nerve and double vision.

It also causes her to suffer from nausea, memory loss and can affect her speech.

Ms Broodyrk has now had a sight-saving shunt inserted, which is a thin tube to re-direct the excess fluid on her brain, but she continues to suffer from blurred vision.

Recalling her terrifying temporary blindness on the motorway, she said: "I was on my way back from Oxford and I lost my vision whilst I was driving.

"I could see a mixture of light but had no idea what was in front of me. It was as if somebody had put frosted glass over my eyes.

"I managed to get over onto the side of the motorway.

"I just sat there in disbelief and thought this can't be real. You never think these things will happen to you."

Ms Broodryk who lives in Horsham, Wiltshire, with husband Joshua Broodryk, 29, said in the months leading up to the incident in January 2020 she had complained of dizziness and blurred vision but felt “fobbed off”.

She added: "I had a really bad headache and I had a ringing in my ears.

"I remember having a conversation with my parents and telling them it felt like my head was going to explode.

After the motorway incident, Ms Broodryk later managed to drive home and book an appointment at Bristol Eye Hospital for an examination.

She added: "I was in denial that it would all be fine but my vision still wasn't what it should have been.

"I don't remember driving to the hospital but my dad eventually found my car and it was parked at a church."

"There were three conditions they had to check for, a large tumour, a blood clot through the brain or IIH."

After going for a CT scan and a lumberpuncture, they discovered Ms Broodryk had an abnormally high level of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and diagnosed her with IIF.

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1