Former RAF pilot claims routine eye test ‘saved his sight’ after ‘silent menace’ diagnosis

A former Royal Air Force pilot has said his eyesight was saved after a routine eye test, making him one of the “lucky ones”.

Martin Higgins was diagnosed with glaucoma in 2003 during a routine eye exam and said it was a “silent threat” to his eyesight.

To raise awareness of the disease, which can lead to sight loss, Martin ran 1,000 miles from Land’s End to John o’Groats.

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He said: “A routine eye test at a local optician revealed that I had glaucoma, a silent threat to my eyesight. I am one of the lucky ones because this eye exam saved my sight.

“While I’m used to flying high above the clouds in a fast jet as a former Red Arrow, on the ground you’ll most likely find me dutifully applying my eye drops against glaucoma every day. »

Regular eye exams and daily eye drops kept him flying, but soon after his diagnosis he became aware of the lack of funding for glaucoma research, the Record writes.