A man was rushed to A&E for a 14-hour surgery after a serious problem was found - during a routine eye test.
Josh Lovett, who was 22 at the time, went to the Waterloo Eye Centre after complaining of dryness in his eyes.
Optometrist Cortney Melia, 33, then carried out the test and was at first not concerned at the symptoms he was explaining.
But, after his pupils were dilated to carry out the examination, Cortney immediately referred Josh as an emergency to Aintree Hospital.
And it was there Josh was diagnosed with a tumour the size of a tennis ball - and underwent 14 hours of surgery to remove it.
Cortney, who owns Waterloo Eye Centre, told the story to the Liverpool Echo.
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She said: "Josh came in for his eye test, his main complaint really was a dryness in his eyes, and he also had a bit of eczema around them.
"Nothing from his symptoms caused me to suspect that this could have been a major problem.
"Looking at his eyes during the examination, his pupils were really small, this makes it difficult for me to see the back of the eye itself.
"So I explained to him that I had to dilate his pupils."
She continued: "Once the examination reconvened, and his pupils were dilated for me to see the back, it looked like there was swelling on both optic nerves.
"This is usually an indicator of some kind of pressure behind the eyes.
"When the optic nerve looks swollen, it is usually due to something pressing against it. It could be a build up of fluid, but it could also be other things."
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Cortney said it was "scary" as Josh was not displaying any typical "textbook symptoms" that something was seriously, however she could see "severe" haemorrhaging in his retinas.
Due to not being medically trained she wasn't able to diagnose the problem but after the test stressed to Josh and his mum to go up to the A&E department immediately.
She said: “I told him it wasn’t they eye department I wanted him to see, and that he needs to take the letter straight to A&E.
"I told him that the team would know from the letter which specialist needs to see him.
"I also told them that, whilst I am unable to diagnose, we have to treat this as a worst case scenario, meaning that he has to go to hospital immediately to air on the side of caution."
Cortney did not hear from Josh and his mum for a week, which she said is unusual as "patients usually message the outcome the next day", which is how she knew something was wrong.
Within 36 hours of his appointment with Cortney, Josh underwent major surgery, lasting 14 hours, to remove a tumour from his brain.
Josh said that the consultants were “amazed that he didn’t have any symptoms or headaches " and told him and his mum the eye test had "saved his life".
Cortney keeps in contact with Josh and his family and he is now on the road to recovery.
The initial scans, according to Josh, had specialists believing that the tumour was the size of a walnut and that surgery would only be eight hours long, when in fact, the tumour was actually the size of a tennis ball and required 14 hours to remove it.
Cortney has said that Josh’s mum feels passionately and now wants to raise awareness about the importance of having regular eye tests at all ages.
