Brave sixteen-year-old from St Albans cuts the ribbon marking new Vision Express store open
A teenager who has battled the rare eye cancer all her life was the special guest to open the new Vision Express St Albans store, in a bid to raise awareness of an aggressive condition called retinoblastoma.
Hannah Abu, aged sixteen, officially cut the ribbon to mark the Vision Express store open on Saturday 16 November 2019, accompanied by her mother, Karen Abu. Hannah was diagnosed with the condition at 10 months old and received urgent treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Karen noticed that, at six months old, Hannah’s left eye was not looking in the same direction as her right eye. Despite professionals dismissing her concerns, considering it to be a lazy eye, Karen felt something was not right.
She persisted in finding a clearer diagnosis for her daughter. Four months later, Hannah was examined by an ophthalmologist at Redbridge Hospital in Essex. They noticed a white spot by shining a torch into her eye. The ophthalmologist from Barking, Havering discovered the cancer just in time.
Hannah was immediately referred to Moorfields Eye Hospital, where they diagnosed her with the rare form of eye cancer, retinoblastoma. Within three days Hannah was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital to receive life-saving treatment.
Karen explains: “Low awareness of the signs and symptoms among parents and healthcare professionals means that families experience potentially devastating delays in diagnosis, and around a half of children lose an eye to save their life.”
Despite experiencing an aggressive childhood illness and losing partial vision in one eye, Hannah leads a full, active life. Not only is she doing well at school, she is involved in several extra-curricular activities including directing the school production and singing in the choir.
Alongside this, Hannah also raises awareness for retinoblastoma, as an ambassador the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT), which is a charity partner of Vision Express. Karen said: “It’s nice to see that she can still be outgoing and so confident in herself without being defined by the illness she had.”
Hannah led the ribbon cutting to mark the official opening of the Vision Express store in St Peter’s Street, St Albans, celebrating a recent refurbishment.
Karen said: “Having organisations such as Vision Express working alongside CHECT, to help promote an awareness, is extremely comforting to me as a parent. I believe partnerships like this will help to create a greater awareness about the signs and symptoms of childhood eye cancer and its impact on patients’ lives.”
St Albans store manager Hament Patel added: ‘It was brilliant to have Hannah and her mother Karen join us to officially declare our new-look store open. We are truly inspired by her story of battling retinoblastoma and helping raise awareness of the condition.
“We’re proud at Vision Express to support the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust and we urge any parents that suspect retinoblastoma or notice any potential symptoms in their child, such as a white glow in their eye in certain lighting conditions or a squint, to visit their local opticians or GP.”
To book an eye test at the new St Albans store call 01727 739614 or visit: https://www.visionexpress.com/opticians/opticians-in-east-england/hertfordshire/st-albans/