Eye exam leads to woman’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis

ATLANTA, Ga. (Aging Untold) — Andrea Medford knows the importance of getting a routine eye exam as well as anybody. And in June 2024, it became even clearer.

The Georgia woman went in for an eye exam and discovered she has multiple sclerosis.

“I was in shock,” Medford said.

She woke up with blurry vision in one eye and contacted Briggs Vision Group in Dunwoody to schedule a checkup. That decision might have saved her vision.

“She then came back in the room, handed me a piece of paper and said, ‘I need you to go to the emergency room,’” Medford said.

Dr. Rebecca Briggs Garnier, a member of the Georgia Optometric Association, conducted a series of vision tests, including the red cap exam, before offering a diagnosis of optic neuritis, which occurs when swelling damages the optic nerve.

“Her good eye saw the red perfectly and the bad eye was very muted and looked more like a burgundy-grayish color. So, we knew at that point it was optic neuritis,” Briggs Garnier said.

That’s when Medford was told to go to the emergency room, and what happened next, no one could have seen coming.

“I get to my hospital room and an emergency department doctor came into my room once I was in there and said we need to talk about your paperwork and your MS diagnosis,” Medford said.

Medford was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and spent a week in the hospital before her vision returned.

Read more of Andrea Medford’s story here.