Father of four, Danny Hunt had to have his right eye removed along with bone in his nose and jaw and was left with a gaping hole in his face after a severe form of eye cancer was misdiagnosed as a migraine. Mr. Hunt originally started suffering from headaches and throat infections in 2008 when his GP diagnosed him with laryngigitis. After going for a second opinion at a hospital he was informed that he might be suffering from migraines. However, when a lump began to grow next to his eye, Mr. Hunt and his wife Mandy went to Moorfield Eye Hospital in London for a specialist opinion. According to reports in Metro, specialists told Mr. Hunt he had a tumour with ‘spider legs’ – an indicator of a particularly nasty form of eye cancer.

In 2009, Mr. Hunt’s right eye along with a bone in his nose and jaw were removed. Mandy said, “He has had so many operations. Because there’s no bone in his nose, everything comes out of his nose. The bone underneath the brain has crumbled.” A ‘flap of skin’ using skin from Mr. Hunt’s back and an artery in his leg was created by doctor to cover the hole that was left after the surgery. Before the flap, his son Stephen, 24, helped clean out anything that got stuck in his nose. Before being diagnosed with cancer, Mr. Hunt underwent separate surgery after doctors discovered that a bout of tuberculosis in his 20s had crystallised the sack of his heart. The upper part of his right lung also had to be removed. He was also diagnosed with Marfan syndrome – a genetic disorder affecting a person’s body tissue.

According to Mandy the last few years have been heart-breaking for their family. She said, “He was healthy, energetic. He used to work 16 hours a day. He’s such a hard worker. He loved his job. They expected him to die.” She further said that her husband is now embarrassed to be seen in public and children often don’t understand. “It’s just heart-breaking when all this has come about,” Hunt said. “I can’t believe what have we been through.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 08, 2018 09:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).