A six-year-old girl's life was saved after a routine eye test led to the discovery of a brain tumour the size of a kiwi fruit.
Tanisha Castello, a mum-of-three from Ipswich, took her daughter Sofia for a routine eye test at Specsavers in Warren Heath, Ipswich.
Prior to the test, Tanisha had received a call from her daughter's school to say she had been vomiting, which she had put down to heatstroke or a sickness bug going around the school.
Sofia had also been complaining of headaches which, again, Tanisha thought might be related to the excessively hot weather.
The six-year-old was seen by the store's optometrist who carried out a full eye test. Noticing that something wasn't right, the optometrist used a retinal camera to photograph the back of Sofia's eye.
The images confirmed that something was wrong and the optometrist referred Sofia to the emergency paediatric department at Ipswich Hospital, where the family went straight away.
Once at the hospital, Sofia underwent a CT scan, which revealed that she had a brain tumour, the size of a kiwi fruit, that had been growing for about a year.
Tanisha said: "I just went numb.
"I didn't know how to feel to be quite honest, didn't want to believe it.
"My family have not had a history of anything like this which was why it was so surprising to me."
Sofia and her mum went straight to Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, in an ambulance, while her dad, Gareth Kidd-Stanton, stayed at home with their two younger children, Jaiden, five, and Rueben, 18 months.
Sofia then underwent a six-hour operation to remove the tumour, spending 11 days post operation in hospital before being discharged.
Gareth said: "It all happened so quickly.
"Within 11 days of Sofia's eye test at Specsavers, she was diagnosed and treated.
"While she's still being monitored by the hospital, although she still fatigues easily, she’s not experiencing headaches anymore, which is a huge relief."
Tanisha continued: "She was very brave.
"In fact, she was more upset that her birthday party had to be cancelled.
"Gareth and I on the other hand, to be quite honest, I don't know how we got through it."
Surgeons were able to remove all of the tumour, leaving Sofia with a five-inch scar on the back of her head, and sending it off for tests. Results showed that the mass was not cancerous.
Her parents have said that Sofia is now back to her normal self again, dancing, being bubbly and cheeky, and enjoying her gymnastics.
Gareth and Tanisha have also made sure that she was able to have a sixth birthday party.
Gareth continued: "We cannot thank Specsavers enough.
"The optometrist took great care to ensure Sofia had a thorough eye test, which led to the diagnosis and saved her life.
"We're extremely grateful to all the Specsavers' team and the medical staff at both Ipswich Hospital and Addenbrooke's."
Specsavers Warren Heath optometrist director, Ayanna Cooper, said: "Our expert team are always on the lookout for cases like Sofia and were able to diagnose the problem using our retinal camera.
"It's great to hear that Sofia is making a full recovery, she's been incredibly brave.
"It's cases like Sofia's that highlight the importance of having regular eye tests, regardless of whether you've noticed any unusual symptoms.
"I hope that stories like Sofia's can encourage others to keep up with their regular eye health checks, because not everyone realises that the eye test is more than just whether you need glasses or not."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here