Routine eye appointment discovers man had stroke
By Maurice Garvey
A ROUTINE appointment at the eye doctor led to a pensioner discovering he had suffered a stroke.
Clondalkin resident John O’Halloran (75) went to Specsavers Liffey Valley for his bi-annual check-up, but optometrist Patrick Dennehy recognised signs that John had suffered a stroke and advised him to attend A&E immediately.
Optometrist Patrick Dennehy and John Halloran
Mr O’Halloran spent a number of days in Tallaght Hospital and is continuing his recovery at home after being released from hospital in February.
“I don’t know what would have happened if I didn’t go up straight away to A&E,” said John.
“Patrick gave me a letter to give to the doctors and what he wrote in the letter after seeing me was the exact diagnosis that the doctors in Tallaght made themselves. I was really impressed with the speed at which he made the diagnosis.”
John woke up one morning with blurry sight but thankfully, he already had an appointment with his local Specsavers in Liffey Valley.
“Despite my age, I have a very healthy lifestyle, so it was the last thing I expected to hear, but it shows you how important eye-tests are, not just for your eyes but for other things as well,” he said.
Speaking about his examination with John, Patrick said: “Straight away you know you aren’t doing an eye-test because something is going on that is more important right now and requires urgent care. I spoke with an ophthalmologist at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital and told him my concerns, he confirmed that John had likely suffered a stroke and should go straight to A&E.”
John, who will celebrate his 76th birthday in a few weeks, is “more or less back to normal”.
“My vision is still a little impaired but everything else is fine. It was only a mild stroke, so I was very lucky in that sense. I would be highly complementary of Patrick.”
