How a Christmas present saved eyesight of Scots footballer

Health Correspondent

Wednesday 22 August 2012

He played for Scotland under Jock Stein, and scored more than 100 senior league goals both here and in England.

Neil Martin proudly shows off a Scotland cap

But striker Neil Martin has revealed that he almost lost his sight in one eye, saved only by a lucky Christmas present and a new drug treatment.

Mr Martin, 71, who won three full caps in 1965 alongside such legends as Willie Johnston, Steve Chalmers, John Greig, and Alan Gilzean, suddenly found letters looked blurred when he was trying to read and had to move his head to see them clearly.

He dismissed the problem as a sign of old age, little knowing there was a blockage in the vein at the back of his left eye - a condition known as retinal vein occlusion (RVO) which can cause blindness. Fortunately, because he had complained that the arms of his bifocal glassess were awry, his sons Stewart and Craig had given him Vision Express vouchers for Christmas last year. He went to the shop to pick new frames but, after conducting an eye test, the opticians referred him to the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh instead. Until six months ago there was no treatment available on the NHS which could reverse the effects of RVO and consultant eye surgeon Dr Peter Cackett, who treated Mr Martin, said most patients lose the sight in one eye. However, at the start of the year, the Scottish Medicines Consortium gave the green light for doctors to use the drug Lucentis - which is injected directly into the eye - on patients with RVO. Lucentis has been used by NHS Scotland to treat a different eyesight problem, wet age-related macular degeneration, since 2007. After three courses of treatment Mr Martin, says his eyesight has significantly improved. He can still drive to watch the team he chairs, Tranent Juniors, play matches on Saturdays. Mr Martin, who played for Alloa, Queen of the South, and Hibernian and partnered Gilzean in the famous 1-0 victory over Italy at Hampden when Jock Stein was the part-time manager, also played at Sunderland, Coventry City, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace between 1959 and 1978. He said: “I think to lose your vision would be one of the worst afflictions. Losing the sight in one eye would be hard to take.” His mother had suffered from cataracts, and so he had assumed the deterioration in his own eyesight was due to the same problem and he would have to wait some time for them to be removed. He said: “The doctor in the Eye Pavilion did a few tests and said ‘it is not cataracts’ and told me what it was. He said that in the past it could never be repaired but there was a new treatment starting that had had quite good results but it was up to me if I wanted it. I said ‘I will try anything if it will improve it.’” Mr Martin, had to travel in for the injections once a month for three months. He said: “I did that and went back two weeks ago for a check up and the doctor was very surprised with the improvement.” Dr Cackett said trials to date suggest the sooner patients with RVO are treated with Lucentis, which is also known as ranibizumab, the better their prognosis. He said: “If you do experience blurred vision do not assume that it might just be a change of specs required or the onset of cataracts. A lot of people delay coming to see the optometrists if they feel time does not matter. But there are conditions now where time does matter and with RVO the sooner the better.” Mr Martin decided to talk about his experience to raise awareness of the importance of eye testing. He said: “A lot of people do not bother going to the opticians. You can just buy reading glasses in a shop. What happened to me shows there is no doubt that it is worth the effort. “My family are delighted. They kept wondering when I was going to use the Vision Express vouchers. It was a very good idea for a Christmas present.” A spokeswoman for sight loss charity RNIB Scotland said: “The charity’s main message is that many sight-threatening conditions can be arrested - and in some cases reversed - if detected early on. "So having an eye examination at least once every two years, which is free in Scotland, should be part of everyone’s health care routine. RNIB’s ‘Save our Sight’ campaign, which is working to tackle avoidable sight loss, says that over 50% of sight loss is avoidable.”

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How a Christmas present saved eyesight of Scots footballer

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