Mike’s story – I wish I had acted more quickly

As part of National Eye Health Week 2022, we asked people to tell us their stories about eye health and the importance eye health tests and eye health awareness more generally.

This is Mike’s story

“I was on holiday with my family a few years ago and notices a slight clouding in my right eye. It felt like something was in there but I couldn’t shift it. As I was on holiday, I thought nothing much of it and carried on as normal. Within a few days I began to lose peripheral vision in my eye and it was as though a net curtain was being pulled across my eye. It became increasingly cloudy and blurred.

“I returned home and immediately made an emergency appointment at my optometrist. They had a look and confirmed that I had a likely retinal detachment and sent me to my local eye hospital.

“I was looked at by a consultant and booked for surgery the next day. Although the surgery successfully repaired the retina, I now have virtually no sight in my right eye. The delay in getting treatment in those early days meant that it was not possible for the repair to recover my sight. I wish I had recognised the signs of a serious problem and acted more quickly. I might have saved my sight.”