A RUNCORN gran has thanked an optician for saving her eyesight.

Kim Malvern, 53, from Murdishaw, visited Specsavers at Runcorn Shopping Centre complaining of a dull ache around her eye.

Tests immediately revealed she had a potentially blinding detached retina.

Half an hour later, opticians referred Kim to St Paul’s Eye Unit at The Royal Liverpool University Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery within hours.

The coffee shop assistant only called into the opticians on her day off on November 20, last year, for a check up when she couldn’t concentrate on the till at work.

Kim said: “I went into Specsavers at 11am and I was out of my emergency operation by 6.30pm.

“It was an extremely emotional and frightening day because you just don’t think these things will ever happen to you.

“When the pain got a little worse I started getting floaters, little passing specks in my vision, but I just wrote them off thinking there must have been a fly nearby.

“I popped into store as it wouldn’t go away.”

Staff were fantastic, she said, and reassured her when she explained what was happening.

“They put my mind at ease during my test and phoned the hospital to tell them to expect me immediately,” she said.

“They even helped me contact my daughters to let them know I had to go straight to the Royal.”

Kim is now urging anyone with similar pains to seek immediate help.

“It just goes to show how important acting quickly is,” she added.

“You cannot put a price on your health. I’m so glad I went to Specsavers.”

Kim is now recovering at home with her family.

She wants to thank Charlotte Caldwell, Lynn Connor and Stuart Jones at Specsavers.

Store director Chris Graham said: “The entire team is delighted to hear that Kim’s recovery is going very well.

“If left untreated, detached retinas can lead to blindness so it’s an extremely serious condition we can identify very easily with a sight test.

“It is cases like this that highlight the importance of regular eye checks and why it’s vital to get any problems or concerns you may have, no matter how minor they may seem, checked out as soon as possible.

“You only get one pair of eyes so it is important to look after them.”