Eye test was life-saver for Newry man

A Newry man has said he is lucky to be alive after internal bleeding was spotted during an eye test at Specsavers in The Buttercrane, Newry.

Ten hours later, forty six year old Peter Hoey received a lifesaving blood transfusion following a health complaint that he had ignored until he visited the opticians.

Mr Hoey recently called in to thank staff at the opticians and said  “I can’t believe how lucky I am to still be here. If I hadn’t gone to Specsavers, I would not be able to tell others that eyes can detect health issues that might go unnoticed such as internal bleeding.”

Peter lives with a chronic illness which gives him regular stomach problems that he receives regular treatment for and manages his symptoms accordingly. However, when Peter started to feel an inflamed, gritty pain behind his eyes he promptly went to an optician as he had never had eye problems before.

Peter said – “Despite feeling regularly unwell, I never noticed any issues with my eyes. I had never been to an optician before and I have never worn glasses, but when my eyes started to feel sore, I thought I would call in to Specsavers to see if they could help me with my discomfort.”

Peter visited Specsavers at the Buttercrane for a standard eye test with optician, Alison Dunne. As soon as Alison started to examine his eyes, she noticed that something wasn’t as it should be and recommended that he had a more advanced eye test in-store using an OCT machine, which is similar to an ultrasound or MRI scan used in a hospital. Alison detected a bleed at the back of his eye and referred him to Daisy Hill Hospital, Newry and within ten hours he was called in for an emergency blood transfusion.

Alison Dunne, optician and director of Specsavers Newry said – “Peter made the right decision to come in to get his eyes checked because of feeling discomfort. Regular eye tests help people not only monitor their eye’s health and vision but can also detect serious underlying health conditions, he is very fortunate to be alive.”

Peter is now feeling a lot better and would also like to thank the staff of Daisy Hill Hospita for their care, expertise and assistance.