Difficulty reading the football score while watching television led a Forfar man to discover he had a brain tumour the size of a small potato.
Graeme Horton’s sight has returned to normal after surgery at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
However the 46-year-old keeps a photo of the tumour to remind himself how lucky he was that it was discovered early.
He recalled: “At first I thought the problem with my vision was just due to tiredness but the issue persisted.
“When I closed my left eye, I could see out of my right eye perfectly well. But when I closed my right eye, I struggled to see out of my left.”
His wife Joanne persuaded him to visit his optician who then immediately referred him to the eye clinic at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
Optician Jayne Smeaton from the Forfar branch of Specsavers said: “Graeme had 20/20 vision prior to his eye test. However, it quickly became apparent that he had very poor vision in his left eye.
“This sort of drastic change is quite uncommon. The appropriate prescription to aid the vision in Graeme’s left eye did not help him to see any better.
“This, alongside the left eye testing abnormal for colour vision, prompted me to suspect that there may have been a problem with his nerve supply to the eye.”
After several tests and an MRI scan, Graeme was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour on his pituitary gland.
The tumour, although benign, had grown to the point where it was causing his optic nerve to bend, affecting the vision in his left eye.
Graeme underwent surgery to remove the tumour in August 2015. He still takes prescribed tablets and regular hormone injections following the surgery and will continue to do so until his pituitary gland is fully functioning again.
He will also undergo regular MRI scans for the next 10 years to monitor for any signs of the tumour recurring.
Graeme is now encouraging people to get checked out at their opticians if they notice changes to their vision.
He added: “I’ve kept a photo of the tumour to remind me how lucky I was that it was discovered – it was the size of a small potato.
“I honestly thought that I needed glasses and was initially reluctant to book an appointment.
“My diagnosis just shows how important it is to pay attention to any changes in your vision, even if they don’t seem that significant.”
