A model claims that her GP felt like she was a “drama queen’ after they suggested she had a “low tolerance to pain’ headaches but then missed an issue that caused her to become blind. Hazal Baybasin began to suffer headaches around the beginning of the year, but she claims that she was “pushed aside” by her doctor, who sent her home with only painkillers.
In the middle of three months continuous headaches and constant headaches, the sales employee noticed that her life was “falling to pieces’. She was unable to sleep or eat and was constantly being dragged into meetings because she was not hitting targets and hitting colleagues. Things became so awful that Hazal who was just 28 at the time but currently 32 years old, sought A&E in Barnet Hospital where she claims she was told that she was “absolutely fine” before being removed with a co-codamol.
But, when she took an Uber home she fell asleep on the couch. She was discovered by her mother and brother, who promptly called an ambulance. After spending a week at Northwick Park Hospital, they discovered three massive clots on her brain that were extending throughout her neck. Within just two weeks Hazal experienced a loss of vision.
The doctor claims that the only way to restore her sight back would require the course of a life-altering procedure, with high risk. This means she’d have to pick between being blind or crippled. But, following her transfer at Charing Cross Hospital, doctors could only retrieve one pinprick of her vision. They eventually diagnosed the patient with an uncommon brain disorder Idiopathic intracranial Hypertension.
Hazal of Edgware, London, said: “After a few weeks I started taking paracetamol at least every couple of hours, and it was barely scratching the surface. it was barely helping me get through my day. It was impacting the way I worked, and I found myself yelling and fighting with my colleagues until my supervisor came over and said, ‘look at you’re not you’re self-defence’.
“I was unable to eat and was nauseated about eating any food. The energy levels of my body were to drop. I couldn’t get to sleep due to the pain. I was exhausted. Everything was crumbling.
“When I called my doctor, they put it down as migraine. I’d never had an actual migraine before. my doctor explained to me that it was just a severe headache, and that perhaps I have a lower tolerance to pain.
“I thought I would be an actress when I continued to say I was suffering from pain immediately after the fact. I was among the women at work who told me ‘Hazal I don’t care about what your GP has told you on the phone I don’t think this is an issue with migraines’.”
This week, Hazal decided to go to A&E at Barnet Hospital, but walked to the hospital because her pain was so intense that she couldn’t drive in worry of being too weak to keep her head. Hazal stated: “I went for a CT scan and they confirmed that my brain was in perfect condition and I didn’t have anything to worry about. So, it was probably an extremely serious migraine. He also gave me codamol for me to take and suggested I book an Uber back home.”
In the first few minutes after returning to her home, Hazal says she passed out on the couch. The next day, she was spotted by her brother and mother who were stunned that she was ‘bludgeoned off’ by painkillers and demanded an ambulance.
After a week of A&E located at Northwick Park, they discovered three blood clots of large size on the brain’s surface which were spreading across her neck. In intensive care, Hazal’s condition grew worse and, despite raising concerns over her sight after 48 hours, she was completely blind.
Hazal told the media: “My sight literally went overnight. My family members were in the room with me. I demanded that they turn on the lights, and they told me they were switched on. This is when I felt the cold sensation and thought , ‘f*ck it’s not just blurry; it’s dark’. It was pitch black and I was unable to see anything.
“It was a form of terror I’d never had before. It was the most terrified I’ve ever felt in my entire life. It was a complete shock. I was suffering from an extreme degree of discomfort to the point that I was unable to walk. I was on the wheelchair.
“I could not see anything, it was completely black. I was racked with anger, but I was unable to stand up and leave. I was crying and screaming thinking “this is my life now.”.
“The doctor suggested that they might be able to help me get my eyesight back. But it was a risky procedure and they advised that there was a significant possibility that I’d be completely paralyzed.
“I was screaming at the time and asking myself ‘How could you make me choose between remaining blind or being crippled? This was not a decision I was able to make, and I was not interested in either.”
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Luckily, her brother encouraged Hazal for a second opinion and she was quickly taken into Charing Cross Hospital who immediately realized what was wrong and began working to bring back her vision. Hazal stated: “The neurologists [at Charing Crossimmediately recognized the problem. They didn’t sound panicked or concerned, they’d seen similar situations before.
“They advised me that the procedure they used to restore my vision back would not be dangerous even if it was risky. They performed it [the lumbar puncture] in which I experienced three flashes of light immediately as if a pinprick was placed in the center of my vision.
“They carried out the same procedure each day and resulted in back one tiny pinprick of tunnel-vision in the center of the brain after about 10 days. In the morning, I was admitted for neurosurgery. It is the very first time that I’ve been through surgery in my entire life.
“I was awake in a specialized unit. I was there for about a week and afterwards my headaches were able to be controlled. I spent the rest of the month or so working with the physiotherapist in order to help get used to the vision. They explained that the vision tunnel I had was the only thing they could offer me back.”
Hazal says she was advised by experts from Charing Cross that her condition could have been prevented from the start If she was considered seriously by a doctor. Hazal has since channeled her anger at the NHS into launching an accessible skincare brand called BlindBeauty and hopes it will increase awareness.
Hazal who is now a business owner and model He stated: “If I’d been taken seriously from the beginning, it would have prevented me from becoming blind. The fact that I was diagnosed with blindness was confirmed through Charing Cross, they said it was a pity I didn’t contact them earlier, as they could have saved my sight.
“They told me that if my previous doctors] treated me with respect instead of instructing me to take stronger painkillers the issue would have been taken care of and would have been avoided even once. This made me mad that I was shattered at the time.
“My recommendation to anyone is that if you’re experiencing any type of discomfort or pain Don’t attempt to find relief, but instead begin researching the reasons why that pain is present in the first place. The absence of any type of discomfort or pain is a normal occurrence, no matter the advice of your physician.
“If I had done this, I would have discovered I had an illness that affects my brain and could have averted becoming blind.” Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust have been in touch to discuss their views.
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