A woman who blamed a hangover for her blurred vision while watching a Beyoncé concert on TV was later found to have a non-cancerous tumour in her eye, which ultimately had to be removed.
Jade Windley, 28, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, was watching a Beyoncé gig at a friend's house when she struggled to see the backing dancers. She assumed the blurriness was from drinking 'too much' wine the night before, but on a friend's advice she went to Specsavers the next day for a routine check-up.
During the test, which included a 3D scan of the back of the eye, concerned optometrists urged her to go to hospital. There, the charity shop manager was told she had a non-cancerous tumour in her right eye and that she may lose her vision.
Multiple treatments and a second tumour
After undergoing six eye injections, steroid injections and a course of radiotherapy, Jade was devastated to be told she had a second non-cancerous tumour and felt 'completely numb' when she was told she needed her eye removing.
Jade said: "I was at my friend's house and was watching a Beyoncé concert and I couldn't see the backing dancers. I thought 'maybe I've just had a bit too much wine the night before and I'll sleep it off'.
"My friend brought up this test about 'how to tell if you have a detached retina'. I didn't understand why I'd have this but I couldn't see this black dot [on the test] so I took myself to the opticians. They offered me a scan for my eye. I thought 'this is stupid, I've just been on the wine'.
"They said 'you need to get yourself to A&E right now' and that's what started the process. It was definitely a shock, I was completely confused and baffled."
Surgery and recovery
Jade had multiple eye injections and a course of radiotherapy in October 2025, but still suffered with pain and in March 2026 was told she had a second tumour and needed to have her eye removed. After having surgery to remove her eye on August 5, Jade now wears an ocular conformer, a plastic shell that sits inside her eye socket to hold its shape, while she waits for a prosthetic eye to be fitted.
Jade said: "Having my eye removed has destroyed me and my confidence, it's a long process and a lot of surgeries and appointments. I've just been in constant pain, the vision decreased as well. At the start I still got some vision and then it got to the point I had nothing except a tiny bit of light.
"I had this radiotherapy and got the all-clear and tried to start a life again. Then I was getting these increased headaches and I didn't talk to anybody about it but I was in pain, your gut knows but I didn't want to accept that.
"Needing surgery to have my eye removed wasn't what I was expecting to hear. By this point I'd gone completely blind [in that eye] and it was painful, I was throwing up all the time at work.
"I'd have spells where my friend would have to pick me up and walk me home from work. I have to find love for the eye hole. The eye patch, unless you wear a medical one, invites a lot of questions.
"It can be really hard to leave the house because you're questioned all the time 'what's happened to your eye?'. The recovery makes you extremely anxious, I lost half my vision and depth perception. You don't know what's on that side, you're jumpier, you have to completely change how you view your life."
Awareness and fundraising
In addition to readjusting to life with one eye, Jade says she also started experiencing Charles Bonnet syndrome, a condition that causes hallucinations. Jade has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to help her buy prosthetic eyes and to support her while she is unable to work.
Now, Jade hopes to spread awareness about the condition and encourage others to get any concerns checked out. She said: "I'm not accepted or the same as people with two eyes but I don't feel like I'm allowed to say I'm partially sighted.
"I'm grateful because if I hadn't gone to Specsavers that day I might not have found out for months or years. Go and get checked out and spend the extra tenner to have the back of your eye checked."
