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Wales Online
Wales Online
Health
Lydia Stephens

TikTok star Jehane Thomas' heart-breaking photo taken days before sudden death after suffering with optic neuritis

TikTok star and mum-of-two Jehane Thomas shared a heart-breaking photo with her sons just two days before her tragic and unexpected death. The 30-year-old had previously spoken about suffering from migraines and bouts of illness after being diagnosed with optic neuritis.

The Yorkshire mum sadly died on Friday, March 17. Just days before her passing she shared that she had a "really challenging week", both mentally and physically. She told her followers on Instagram that she felt like her sons, Isaac and Elijah, had 'grown up so much' while she was away in hospital, YorkshireLive reports.

According to the NHS, optic neuritis is an inflammation of the optic nerve. The cause is unknown but it typically affects women more than men and can cause a decrease in vision and pain in or around the eye.

Read more: The signs and symptoms of autism in adult women

Sharing her thoughts with her 31,100 Instagram followers just days before she died, Jehane said: "Six days admitted into hospital and I'm finally home with my boys. It's been a really challenging week, not just physically but mentally. I've missed these two so much and feel like they've both grown up so much whilst I've been away.

"After sharing my experience, many of you have told me to go and speak to PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) which I'll be doing in the morning. I'm then going to email my neurologist and see what plan of action he had in place because I can not keep living life like this. I may be home but I'm still struggling with these migraines as nothing was really done to help them after a whole week of being there and I'd rather self medicate at home with these around me then left me in a bed on my own all day and night, so I may not be fixed but I'm not giving in."

She added: "Thank you to everyone who has reached out but most importantly thank you to my parents and Liam for taking over the boys and the house for me. Always making sure they were looked after. Thank you for making sure they knew mummy was OK and sending me pictures and videos to help me get through the longest days in hospital without them.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to support her sons following her death. Paying tribute to her friend, Alyx said: "Jehane Thomas was a 30 year old, mum of two boys when she suddenly passed away on 17/03/2023. Despite suffering from migraines and bouts of illness for several months, her passing was totally unexpected and we are all absolutely heartbroken.

"Her two children, Isaac (3, almost 4), and Elijah (1), have been left without their mum. I’ve started this page in the hope of raising some money so her beautiful boys can have the best childhood, make memories and make sure they are comfortable. Nothing will bring the boys their mum back, but we hope it will bring some relief to her family, knowing how loved and supported they are."

What is optic neuritis?

Optic neuritis is an inflammation of the optic nerve. Our eyes have an optic nerve which connects to our brain and its function is to carry visual information from the retina to the occipital cortex area of our brain - this interprets that image into what we recognise as sight.

Anyone can get optic neuritis, and it occurs in both children and adults. affecting either one or both eyes. However, it affects more women than men between the ages of 18-45, and the average age is around 30-35. The cause is unknown but in most cases a coating around the optic nerve - known as myelin, which acts as a electrical insulation to help the nerve conduct electric signals back to the brain - is attacked by the body's immune system.

An episode of optic neuritis may be the first sign of multiple sclerosis - a disease that attacks the myelin in the brain and or spinal cord.

What are the symptoms?

  • decrease in vision
  • in mild cases it may appear that the 'contrast is turned down'/colours washed out
  • slight pain around the eye, which may be worse with eye movement

Diagnosis and treatment

Optic nueritis can be hard to diagnose as often the eye looks normal. Few patients with it may have swelling. Both your eyes will be examined for colour vision and blood tests may also be required. It is usually treated with steroids, however vision may not return to normal.

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