'Thanks for buying me a custom-made glass eye'

Alaina Ratcliffe thanked the team at Specsavers in Beccles for organising a fundraiser to pay for her glass eye

A mum who lost an eye after a routine test picked up cancer said the support of her community had been the best medicine.

Alaina Ratcliffe, from Beccles in Suffolk, had her left eye removed just three weeks after a test at a local opticians picked up an abnormality.

Ms Ratcliffe said she feared the worst, especially for her children, but a fundraiser that helped pay for a custom-made glass eye left her feeling "appreciated".

And she told anyone thinking of putting off an eye test: "Please don't, please go."

She added: "Even if you've got a busy life, work, children, please go for an eye test. It picks up so much."

Ms Ratcliffe said she first noticed a "jelly feel" on her eye and suffered headaches, which she put down to tiredness.

After an eye test at her local Specsavers she was referred to the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk. It was thought her retina was detached.

On the same day, she was sent to Moorfields Eye Hospital, in London, where more tests were done.

Two days later, she got a call telling her she had a cancerous lump and her eye would need to be removed.

'A meltdown'

"I had a bit of a meltdown because I've got three young children," Ms Ratcliffe told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"You read things online and you always think the worse, but it was mainly the children aspect of it.

"At the end of the day, everybody has to go at some point but it was just my children I was worried about.

"Obviously the eye is removed now and I'm feeling quite positive about it all."

Ms Ratcliffe was given a prosthetic eye, but she hoped she could get a custom-made glass one that would be more "whacky".

A fundraiser set up by Specsavers in Beccles aimed to raise £1,200 to help Ms Ratcliffe pay for it.

After just 24 hours, the target was reached. The current total is £2,144.

"It makes you feel appreciated," she continued.

"I'm amazed by how many people have [donated]. It makes no difference what the total is, or what the amount is that people put in.

"I appreciate every single penny and it does make you feel so much better that people are supporting you."