An accountant with perfect vision was effectively “blinded” for a year after he blinked in strong sunlight only for his eyelids to snap shut and refuse to reopen until Botox injections enabled him to see. Forced to prise his eyelids open manually, or squint to give himself a crack of vision, Robert Graham, 67, did his best to keep functioning.
He played his situation down, partly believing it would be temporary and partly through fear. But it was only when he was referred to a private specialist a year after the problem started who suggested using Botox, which is more commonly regarded as a cosmetic treatment to smooth out wrinkles, that his lids lifted and he could see normally again.
Now retired, Robert, a father-of-two and grandfather-of-one, who lives with his wife, Suzie, 63, a former stay-at-home mum, in Bingley, West Yorkshire, said: “After my first ‘shutdown’ anything you need to have your eyes open for I just couldn’t do. I couldn’t read, watch TV or drive. It was truly debilitating.”
