Routine check saves man's sight

The 64-year-old had noticed sight in his left eye had been gradually getting worse for four years, so he visited a Witney optician for an eye examination to see if new glasses were needed.

But, during the check-up at Specsavers, optometrist Cathy Mullen uncovered something wrong at the back of the eye and immediately sent Mr Marnier to a specialist eye clinic at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital.

A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan showed a walnut-sized tumour pressing on Mr Marnier’s optic nerves in both eyes, as well as his pituitary gland at the base of his brain.

The benign tumour was removed during an eight-hour operation by a neuro surgeon at the hospital, in April.

But Mr Marnier, of Woodlands Road, in Witney, knows he could have lost his sight if it wasn’t for the eagle-eyed optician.

He said: “I would have gone blind in my left eye if it had been left much longer, so it was essential the tumour was removed. It was thought I probably had it for between 10 and 15 years.

“I didn’t suffer from headaches, but it was becoming harder and harder to focus in that eye, and glasses were no longer working.”

The stockbroker, who works at Witney’s Edward Jones, in Langdale Court, has just been given the all-clear after treatment at the hospital.

Mrs Mullen, who has worked at the opticians for almost 15 years, explained how she spotted somethig “suspicious” at the back of his eye.

He has continued to have regular eye examinations since his operation and yesterday, visited Specsavers for a six-monthly check up.

Mr Marnier, who has three children with wife Kathy, said: “I’m extremely grateful to Specsavers for its persistence and the thorough examination I was given as without it I could have lost my sight.”

Mrs Mullen emphasised the importance of having regular eye examinations.

She said: “Mr Marnier’s case highlights the need for an eye examination every two years.

“Had he missed his appointment, he could have lost his sight.”