03 March 2024 , 19:41
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A mum who had blurred vision and assumed she had something in her eye was devastated to be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis - but is determined to live life to the full.
When Emily Topham, 26, struggled to see for several days, she underwent vision tests, only to be told her symptom was a result of damage to her optic nerve at the back of her right eye. She was quickly referred for an MRI in hospital, which confirmed she had the autoimmune condition Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS, a lifelong condition with no cure, lowers life expectancy slightly, can cause permanent disability and weaken the immune system.
But Emily, an active dairy farmer, was otherwise fit and healthy, had no prior medical issues, and so was stunned at the bombshell. She told The Mirror: "I was absolutely devastated as I had seen what a terrible state this can leave people in, not only for them but for the people around them. I felt the ground fall from beneath me.
"I was thinking 'how would I cope with a family when I got disabled? Who will look after my child when I can't?' All of these things go through your mind. It was such a frightening time for me."
Emily Topham, pictured with daughter Hazel, has told of her experience (Supplied)Emily's cruel diagnosis came in May last year when her daughter, Hazel, was just five months old. MS is an autoimmune condition, which causes the body to mistakenly attack the brain and spinal cord - specifically the myelin sheath around the nerve endings, needed for messages to be sent around the body. When messages can't be sent properly, over time movements can become slower or ultimately not sent at all throughout the body and can ultimately result in a person becoming completely disabled, unable to do basic life necessities, such as eating and talking.
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Emily, whose mother and two paternal aunties had MS, became worried her condition would impact her ability to raise Hazel. However, her daughter is now a happy, bouncing toddler. MS isn't directly inherited, but people who are related to someone with the condition are more likely to develop it, NHS says.
The mum had blurred vision and assumed she had something in her eye (Emily Topham)
Emily is determined her diagnosis won't stop her enjoying her active lifestyle (Emily Topham)The farmer, who lives in Shardlow, Derbyshire, added: "I was so fearful my daughter would have to go through exactly what I have already had to go through with my mother. I hope I don't get anywhere near as bad as my relatives are. Since being diagnosed, I have tried to do as much as I can to help myself, even though ultimately the disease will decide my future for me. It is time to enjoy life to the full potential while I can because nobody knows what is to come and I don't want to be unable to do stuff, wishing I had done them when I could."
Emily first noticed a problem with her vision in May last year. Her right eye's vision became significantly impaired within four days, she says. The mum continued: "It felt like I had something in it. The vision was blurred in the top right corner of my right eye, blurred like when you have an eyelash or something similar in it. I kept rubbing it and it would not shift. It was also unusual as it not painful, like when you have something in your eye, however it was painful to move the eyeball from side to side in the socket.
"Over the following three or four days, the blurred area was spreading to a point it was covering well over half of my vision from the right eye. I can only describe it as blurred and discoloured, as if everything through that area of sight was on the grey scale chart."
The diagnosis came not long after Emily gave birth to her daughter (Supplied)
The farmer, of Derbyshire, had a problem with the nerve at the back of her eye (Supplied)She popped into a Specsavers branch, where an optometrist discovered the issue had actually been caused by the nerve at the back of the organ. It was inflamed and so Emily had an urgent MRI at The Royal Derby Hospital. The diagnosis, on May 30, 2023, rocked the mum of one.
"As we are all aware, it is not our eyes that produce and image, its the brain interpreting what the eye is seeing and therefore if the nerve is damaged in some way or not functioning, the brain can't produce a clear image," Emily continued.
"I was absolutely devastated with the diagnosis. Even now I still think about all of these things, like who'll look after my child... I feel I am mentally focused on trying to keep positive knowing the medical developments in the past 20 years+ on treatments for MS. Although there is still no cure, there are many different treatment options available now to try and slow the disease by reducing the number of 'relapses', therefore reducing scar tissue on the spinal cord and brain."
But MS is one of the most common causes of disability in younger adults. It's about two to three times more common in women than men. More than 100,000 people have it in the UK alone. Yet, writing for The Mirror in December, Dr Miriam Stoppard told of a "huge advance in treatment of multiple sclerosis" following a stem cell therapy trial led by University of Cambridge.
The mother was given the shock news at Royal Derby Hospital (Derby Telegraph)Emily's test showed she has three active areas of scaring on her brain, which suggests she received her diagnosis early. She's on several medications to manage the condition, but is determined to run a marathon soon. The mum added: "I have pledged to myself I will complete a marathon and even though my medication may keep me from being as severely disabled as my family members, it is still so important to me to do this for both my physical and mental wellbeing.
"If I had of decided to have ignored the eye issue, it more than likely would have gone almost back to normal within a few weeks, but I would have been none the wiser to my condition and, for all I know, it could have been causing detrimental damage to me in the long term. I am so grateful to Specsavers for clearly and quickly identifying the issue with my eye and getting me referred to the hospital so quickly.
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"My life changed that day I walked into that shop, you could argue for the worse, now being given a devastating diagnosis, but ultimately, it may have saved me from a life much worse than I can imagine it is going to be now hopefully. I am a much healthier person physically, and am mentally prepared for what the future could hold for me."
An OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) scan, which provides a detailed structural scan of the eye, helped the optician detect issues with the nerve. Medics say these can spot symptoms of a breadth of complex conditions.
Navin Nehra, optometrist director at Specsavers Castle Donington, Leicestershire, who tested Emily, said: "From her eye examination, which included using an OCT scan that provides a detailed structural scan of the eye, I could see a slight reduction in vision in her eye and the right optic nerve appeared pale.
"I'm really pleased Emily is receiving the right treatment and is feeling positive about things. It is so important to look after your health and we urge anyone who may be experiencing a change in vision to book an appointment with us at the earliest opportunity."