Woman says Specsavers eye test saved her life

Jackie Rice feels she ‘would have been dead’ if the Specsavers team had not delivered first aid in her home during a routine eye examination

Jackie Rice (left) and the two Specsavers employees who saved her life (right) (Specsavers/PA Real Life)

A woman who was left “severely epileptic” following multiple brain surgeries and whose seizures often leave her “black and blue” has said “Specsavers saved (her) life” as she had four unexpected and “frightening” convulsions during a routine eye examination and they were able to deliver first aid in her home.

Jackie Rice, 56, who lives with her partner of 13 years Louise Cartwright, 55, who is paralysed and uses a wheelchair, was diagnosed with epilepsy about three years ago.

As a result of her condition, Jackie, who lives in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, said she takes up to 20 pills every day and does not leave her home as she is “too frightened” that she will have a seizure.

She cannot cook as she may burn herself or “set fire to (her) place” if she has a seizure; she has lost her driving licence, and she often sustains severe bruising from “smashing (her) face and head” during convulsions.

Her seizures often cause her to wet herself as well, which she said is “embarrassing”.

Because she is afraid to leave the house, she is reliant on the support of remote services, such as the Specsavers home eye tests, and is visited by a carer once a week .

It was during a recent sight test visit that she had several epileptic seizures and started “banging her head against the wall”.

Although she has no memory of it now, she believes she “would have been dead” if the Specsavers team had not visited her home that day.

“They saved my life,” Jackie said.

“My partner was in a different room, waiting for a carer, so she couldn’t help – it was awful.

“I would have been dead – there are no two ways about it because there was nothing Louise could have done.”

Nearly three years ago, Jackie said, Louise found her “unconscious in bed” as she had “collapsed”.

After being taken to hospital, it was discovered Jackie had a hearing infection and three abscesses on the brain, which she believes were left undetected for a while.

Jackie, who does not have any children and no longer works, remained unconscious and underwent three brain surgeries before waking up at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) three weeks later.

She said the procedures have left her deaf in her left ear and severely epileptic, and she now has about one seizure per week.

“Four weeks after I had to put my dog to sleep, that’s when Louise found me,” Jackie said.

“When I came around, I didn’t know where I was, I didn’t know who I was, or anything.

“Because of the operations on my brain, it sent me delirious.”

Jackie said she was told she tried to climb out of a hospital window during the recovery period, and she was not discharged until three months later.

As a result of her epilepsy diagnosis, Jackie said she now takes up to 20 pills every day, and only leaves the house, accompanied by a carer, for necessary appointments or check-ups.

Jackie said she does not know what triggers her seizures, but they often leave her “black and blue”.

“The seizures come out of nowhere,” Jackie said.

“I’m just recovering from a seizure at the moment – I have black eyes, a busted head and a banged-up face.

“I’m black and blue again.”

She said she spends her days with Louise, playing Candy Crush on her phone and watching sport on TV – she is a huge Liverpool Football Club fan.

She is reliant on remote services to help her look after her health and wellbeing, but she never anticipated that she would have multiple seizures during a recent eye examination at home with Specsavers.

All she can remember is starting the eye test and then “coming round in hospital three days later”, which she said was “very scary”.

“It really does scare you when you wake up,” Jackie said.

“I just thought, oh, where’s Louise? What’s happening?

“You have no recollection of where you are.”

Domiciliary optometrist Paula Conway, 52, who works for Specsavers based in York, covering the North Yorkshire area, remembers the day vividly.

She and her optical assistant Charlotte Wilson visited Jackie’s home on January 13 for the routine eye examination.

Just days earlier, on January 9, Paula explained that they had undergone first aid training from instructor Karl Whittaker at St John Ambulance.

Little did Paula know that this training would be invaluable when visiting Jackie, as Karl talked in depth about what to do in the event that someone has a seizure.

“I was about to proceed with the sight test and, all of a sudden, she just started rocking backwards and forwards, and I just thought, oh, this looks like a seizure,” Paula said.

“She started to bang her head against the wall, so I managed to get a cushion behind her, and I knew I had to move all the objects out the way.”

Paula said Jackie had four seizures “one after the other”, but with the support of Charlotte, they were able to put a duvet cover down on the floor to protect her.

They then placed her in the recovery position while she was unconscious and called for an ambulance, after which paramedics arrived and took Jackie to hospital.

While Paula and Charlotte were able to “stay calm” and keep Jackie safe during her seizures, Paula said it was an “extremely frightening experience” and they “both felt quite shaken afterwards”.

“I think it was just really lucky that we were there, and we knew how to handle the situation,” Paula said.

“Without the first aid training, I really don’t know what we would have done, it could have been a completely different situation altogether.”

While Jackie does not remember what happened, she said the team “saved (her) life” – and she feels “very lucky” that Paula and Charlotte were there that day.

She has since given them a bouquet of flowers, as a token of her appreciation, and wants to raise awareness of the Specsavers home visits team and the importance of first aid training.

“I’d like to say thank you to the team for saving my life and for looking after Louise,” Jackie said.

“If they hadn’t have used first aid, I don’t know what would have happened to me, so I think everyone who does home visits needs to have first aid training.

“I didn’t know I was going to fit that day, I never know, so it could have been a very different outcome.”

For more information about Specsavers home eye tests, visit www.specsavers.co.uk/home-eye-tests.