A 51-year old woman from Northwich, Cheshire had attributed her frequent naps and drowsiness to age. But an eye checkup for the same revealed something way more sinister. Alison Haspell, who had not had her eyes checked for more than four years, finally decided to go for a routine checkup. After observing a swelling behind her eye, the optician advised her to undergo further tests at an eye hospital. A CT scan identified a 5 cm benign tumour known as meningioma. Alison had not experienced any noticeable symptoms but had been taking frequent naps and experiencing forgetfulness, attributing it to her age in her 50s. She underwent a 14-hour surgery at the Royal Stoke University Hospital to remove the non-cancerous growth and is currently recuperating.
Alison, who works in customer services, thanks her lucky stars that she finally did go for an eye checkup. She believes that she would have either been dead or have been on her way to deathbed, if she had not got a routine eye checkup.
Alison’s 54-year-old husband Scott is a ground maintenance manager. He also noticed changes in her behaviour similar to dementia and said that she was calmer than usual. She was also struggling with anxiety attacks every day. She said that she used to forget birthdays and things like that and she started limiting things to her age only. She now believes that these symptoms were due to the tumour.
In October 2023, Alison underwent an eye examination, during which the optician detected swelling and decided to refer her to the hospital. Five days later, Alison received a call instructing her to go to Leighton Hospital in Crewe. There, she was diagnosed with the tumour and was prescribed steroids to reduce its size before surgery. Despite the tumour’s considerable size, Alison did not experience typical symptoms like headaches. Alison said that the lack of conventional symptoms was dangerous as it becomes difficult to detect the ailment
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