Parents of little girl, 6, horrified at devastating diagnosis following routine eye test

The parents of a six-year-old girl were left horrified when a routine eye test revealed their little one had a devastating brain tumour.

They have now thanked Specsavers for saving their daughter’s life after a six-hour operation to remove the potentially deadly mass. Tanisha Castello, 31, took her daughter, Sofia, then five, for an eye test two days after she became unwell.

At the test at their Specsavers, an optician noticed something unusual, and the mum was urged to take Sofia to hospital. Once there, the youngster underwent scans and the news was broken to Tanisha and her partner Gareth, 41, that their little girl had a brain tumour.

With no other option, Sofia went under the knife six days later in a six-hour operation to remove the mass that medics estimated had been growing for a year.

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Now six years old, Sofia has fully recovered and her parents credit Specsavers Warren Heath, near their Ipswich home, for “saving her life”.

Tanisha, who has three children – Sofia, Jaiden, five, and Rueben, 18 months – told PA Real Life: “Sofia had been complaining of headaches, which I initially put down to the excessively hot weather.

“But at her routine eye test, it was flagged that something serious was wrong, which led to her diagnosis and saved her life. Sofia has been so brave throughout it all, she was more upset about missing her sixth birthday party, which we’ve obviously rectified.

“We’re extremely grateful to all the Specsavers team and the medical staff at both Ipswich Hospital and Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Sofia is now back to herself, dancing, being bubbly and cheeky – in fact the doctors have been amazed with the speed of