THE DIRECTOR of a Coventry opticians had her sight saved by her own staff.
Baljit Kaur, part owner and director of Specsavers in the Lower Precinct and at The Mall, is sharing her story as part of National Eye Health Week. That began yesterday and runs until Sunday, September 29.
Baljit is now urging people to look after their eyes and make sure they get them checked.
Baljit regularly reminds the local community to take action if they notice anything untoward happening with their health or vision but she did not take her own advice. Instead she had put off some niggling health symptoms including headaches and blurred vision.
She said: “I was, as always, super busy and had been rushing around, so I put my migraines down to stress,
“After a while, when things hadn’t improved, I did go to the pharmacy to do a blood pressure check which confirmed my pressure was high.”
Assuming stress was the cause, Baljit bought some over the counter herbal stress remedies and carried on as usual.
However, one afternoon, while at work, Bal started to feel particularly unwell and noticed her vision had deteriorated further.
She said: “It was a case of being in the right place at the right time,
“Zahrah Ali, one of our graduate opticians, asked if I was okay and when I explained my symptoms we decided she should take a look at my eyes.”
Using an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scan, which takes detailed scans of the back of the eye, Zahrah picked up a central vein occlusion – one of the veins of Baljit’s optic nerves had burst. It was thought this was probably as a result of her high blood pressure.
Zahrah sought the advice of her supervisor Sumaiyah Pathan, who agreed with the graduate’s findings and they immediately referred Baljit to Birmingham Midlands Eye Centre.
Store manager Jenny Muir, drove her there right away.
Initial tests confirmed Zahrah’s findings, a burst optic nerve, and so Baljit was referred onto Solihull Hospital for specialist treatment. This involved injecting VEGF (vascular endothelialgrowth factor) into the eye to help grow new blood vessels. The treatment is ongoing.
After a period of rest, Baljit’s vision returned slowly and after a period of time she was able to return to work.
She is continuing to be monitored for her high blood pressure.
Baljit added: “I am always stressing just how important it is to see your optician, not just so you can see clearly, but because they can pick up a range of other health issues.
“My case demonstrates that clearly. If I hadn’t been at work that day, or had put off my symptoms for much longer I could have lost my sight.
“It’s as simple as that.”
She thanked her team for their support, not only on the day of her diagnosis but also for getting her to hospital and also for her recovery.
Anyone concerned about their sight or wanting to find out more about eye care should call 02477 283735 or visit: specsavers.co.uk/stores/coventry for more.
