A WAREHOUSE worker suffering from dizzy spells went for an eye test and found he had two brain tumours.
However, Scott Garden is now on the road to recovery after successful surgery for the tumours.
The 20-year-old says he will be "forever grateful" to his eagle-eyed optician after his first ever eye test revealed the alarming signs of his condition.
He visited the optician in Elgin, 13 miles from his home in the village of Craigellachie, in the heart of the Speyside whisky country, because he suspected there was something "not quite right".
However, he says nothing could have prepared him for the shock diagnosis.
He began experiencing unusual symptoms after a night out with friends. The following day his speech started to slur, when he was a passenger in a friend's car.
Mr Garden said: "It was scary because I knew in my head what I was trying to say, but I was making no sense whatsoever. My friend stopped his car because we knew something wasn't right. The next thing I remember was lying in hospital.
"My friend thought I had suffered a seizure, but I could not remember a thing. At the time it was put down to a bit of over-indulgence of alcohol the night before, but it soon became clear that was not the case."
A week later Mr Garden was at work when he got a sore head and felt dizzy. When the headache persisted the following day, his grandad took him back to hospital and this time severe migraine was suspected.
His parents advised him to make an appointment at an optician in case he needed glasses.
Optometrist Marc Carmichael, of Specsavers, diagnosed a condition called right sided superior quadrantanopia, which causes swelling of the optic nerve. He immediately referred him to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for further examination.
Following MRI and CT scans it was revealed he had two brain tumours and would need surgery to remove the growths.
Mr Garden said: "I was stunned. When I was referred for tests I still didn't think it was anything serious.
"Even when I was referred to a neurologist I still convinced myself there was nothing major wrong, so it was a huge shock when I was told about the tumours.
"I did not think for a second they would find something like that. I just started crying because I couldn't believe it something like this would happen to me. My mum was with me and I remember her reassuring me everything was going to be okay."
The surgery was successful and, just weeks on from his operation, he is recovering well and has been given the all-clear.
Mr Garden has been back to thank his optometrist.
Mr Carmichael said: "I am really pleased Scott came in to see me when he did. When he started to explain his different symptoms I was concerned, and when I saw his optic nerve so inflamed, I knew there was something wrong that could potentially need further treatment."
He said the story highlighted how vital it was to have regular eye tests.
"It is especially important to make an appointment with an optician if you notice a sudden difference in your vision," he said.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article