TFM Radio's late night presenter Gary Philipson had a lucky escape recently when he almost lost his sight if it had not been for an observant listener.
Gary had been complaining of seeing black dots and had noticed a black veil falling over the top third of his right eye which looked like a smudge on his glasses, after a listener heard it on air they called Gary to say he recognised the symptoms as a detached retina.
The following day Gary attended Hospital and it was then the full extent of his problem came to light – Gary had been walking around with not one but both retinas detached due to a disease called Degenerative lattice syndrome. This is where the retina gets stretched across the eye and holes start to wear away on its surface, Gary had twelve holes in the right eye and nine holes in the right eye.
The consultant advised him if it were not for the quick response of the listener and the fortune that the tears in my retinas were at the bottom of the eye and not the top he could have been blind within months.
Fortunately Gary had an operation days after the listener had diagnosed him with a detached retina and now his sight is back to normal.
Gary Philipson said: “I have a lot to thank Andy for and it shows to me how effective and helpful radio can be. I now have full vision in both eyes and I should not have anymore trouble in the future due to the speediness of my actions.”
Late Night Zoo listener, Andy Johnson said: “I noticed the symptoms straight away and felt it was my duty to call Gary up straight away before his condition got worse. I’m really happy I was of some help to Gary.”
