SFA chief tells of emergency eyecare surgery before key Euros match

Scottish Football Association chief executive Ian Maxwell has told how he suffered an eyecare emergency that could have cost him the sight in one eye just before the Euros.

He almost missed Scotland’s opening match in Germany after an optician spotted a retinal detachment and referred him for urgent treatment.

After undergoing emergency surgery in early June he was unable to fly due to risks during his recovery, but spent almost 24 hours travelling by train to reach Munich in time for the Scotland v Germany match on June 14.

Mr Maxwell said he decided to see an optician after realising there was something wrong with his vision in the lead up to the tournament.

If anything doesn’t feel right get it checked out, whether it’s your eyes or any other part of your body

He said: “I had a shadow in my field of vision in my right eye.

“I kept making excuses to myself…it’s a virus…I’ve been looking at my screen too long.

“But your body tells you when something’s just not right.

“I was supposed to be heading over to Germany with the team for two weeks for the Euros, but I remember being at Hampden thinking, you know what?

“There’s an opticians five minutes away, I’ll get checked out – so I went to Specsavers in Rutherglen.

“I was given eye drops to dilate my pupils and tests showed my peripheral vision was really reduced, and I was told I had a detached retina.

“Within a day I’d been whisked in for surgery.

“It was frightening but amazing how quickly it was dealt with.

“The consultant told me if I’d left it even a few weeks longer it would have been much harder to fix.

“In fact, there comes a point where it can’t be fixed and you can lose your sight.”

Mr Maxwell said he did not appreciate the urgency of his situation and was taken aback when the optician sent him immediately to Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride.

Due to the severity of the retinal detachment, he was then referred to specialists at Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow and underwent emergency surgery at 8am the next day.

Mr Maxwell said he recognised that his attendance at the Euros was in doubt at that point.

He said: “The Euros is such a big deal and everything about it – being away from home, being part of base camp, living that whole experience – is something not many people get a chance to do. I’ve been involved in football my whole life and was really looking forward to it.

“But I had to have a sense of perspective.

“I asked myself what was more important, to be able to see out of both eyes or to be at the Euros, and the answer was clear.”

His surgery included the insertion of a gas bubble into his eye which pushes against the retina and aids healing.

He had to remain face-down for five hours after surgery and for an entire week afterwards had to lie on his side to give his eye the best chance of healing properly.

And while doctors said he could go to Germany for Scotland’s opening match he was unable to fly due to the gas bubble in his eye.

He therefore travelled by train from Croy in North Lanarkshire to Munich arriving in time for the June 14 match, before returning to Scotland by rail for a hospital appointment.

He had to watch the team’s second game against Switzerland on TV but returned to Germany for the Scotland v Hungary match where Scotland were knocked out of the tournament.

Following his experience Mr Maxwell, who is in his late 40s, urged people to make an appointment if something does not feel right with their health.

He said: “Experiences like this definitely make you think.

“There’s always a bit of bravado, particularly among men I think, when it comes to getting health advice.

“But if anything doesn’t feel right get it checked out, whether it’s your eyes or any other part of your body.”

Sarah Freel, optometrist and director at Specsavers in Rutherglen, advised people to have an eye test every two years even if things feel normal and to make an appointment if they have any concerns or notice any changes in the interim.

She said: “In some circumstances, Ian’s being the perfect example, time really is of the essence and the sooner you seek advice, the better it is for your visual outcome.

“If Ian had left things any longer he could have lost his vision in that eye.”