A woman was left with holes in her eyes after a horrific Greek holiday disaster.
Nicky Shipp was enjoying her trip to Greece before an accident turned her dream holiday into a nightmare.
The 63-year-old had been windsurfing at the time when she fell into the water and hit her head, ripping two holes into her eyes.
Nicky, from Surrey, woke up with brown floaters in her eyes a week later and knew something had gone seriously wrong.
She told the Manchester Evening News : “The mast landed on my head with a bad bang. A week later, I noticed star dust in my eyes. The next day, I woke up and I had flashing lights.”
After returning to the UK, Nicky immediately rushed to an optician and following several scans and trips to hospital, a number of holes in her retina were discovered.
If untreated these could have permanently affected her vision.
However, despite an operation to try and fix the holes she developed cataracts in both eyes - when the eye’s lenses cloud over.
Nicky chose to leave the condition alone until four years after the horrifying incident when she tried to drive home in the dark in December 2021.
She said: “I decided to go on the back roads to avoid the traffic but soon realised that I couldn’t differentiate between the tarmac and the grass at the side of the road.
“I was driving at 20mph; I just wanted to get home as safely as possible. I realised that I had to do something about my cataracts - I had become reticent about driving at night and it was starting to have a detrimental impact on my life.”
Eye surgery at the Optegra Eye Hospital in Manchester removed the cataracts and saw her sight returned to normal.
Professor Bernie Chang, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Optegra and president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists has offered his advice on what to do if anyone experiences changes in their vision or eyesight like Nicky did.
He said: “Most of the symptoms we notice in our eyes will be straightforward and easy to treat, but some may be ‘red flags’ indicating a more serious underlying condition that needs urgent medical attention and certainly should not be ignored.
“You should go to your local optician as soon as possible if you experience symptoms such as flashing lights, floaters, blurring of central vision, haloes and persistent pain, redness or itching.
“Other symptoms such as dry eyes or dark circles could be due to lifestyle factors such as lack of sleep or eye strain. You should still see a professional, especially if your eyes are causing you problems or you have concerns, but they are not a medical emergency.
“More worryingly, there are some conditions such as AMD (age-related macular degeneration) and glaucoma that may not have any symptoms at all in the first stages, yet that is the optimum time to start treatment. This is why a regular eye check, every two years, is essential.
“This simple test not only ensures you can see as well as possible – with a prescription for glasses or contacts if needed – but also, vitally, checks on the health of your eyes to ensure sight-threatening conditions can be successfully treated at an early stage.”
