Eye Test

I feel compelled to share this story with you all. I was speaking with a casual acquaintance recently and asked after his wife to which he replied that she was in hospital battling leukemia. It was the last response I expected from him as his wife is an energetic vibrant mother of five whose last born child is only two years old. I asked him how he was coping and if there was anything I could do to help. He asked for my prayers. I wanted to know the hows and the whens. He explained to me that his wife had accompanied her friend to the opticians for an eye test and had decided to have one too as she hadn't had her eyes tested in a long while. She had no aches or pains, nothing what so ever to give her any concern over her health, nothing what so ever, according to her husband. In fact the family was due for their annual holiday a week later. Thus after her friends' test she sat in the seat for her eye test. Soon after the test commenced, the optician started with a barrage of questions, did she have any headaches? did she feel dizzy? did she have fits? and so on. Finally the optician informed her that she needed to go into the hospital immediately as there is a tumor in the back of her eyes, a brain tumor! Her husband was called immediately and he took her to the hospital where further tests confirmed that she did in fact have a brain tumor. She was admitted and eventually also diagnosed with leukemia. She has been in hospital ever since fighting for her life, this was nine months ago. I did not know that an eye test could reveal this much. I reflected on the courage of her husband as he forges ahead into an uncertain future with his five children; I also reflected on the fragility of life, how sometimes our best laid plans can be disrupted by life itself. My thoughts and prayers are with this woman and her family as she fights this battle of her life. I need to book an appointment with my friend, Dr Claire Esenwah of Smilie Opticians here in Abuja FCT. God help us all and keep us well.