Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. We have several events planned for the Eye Love Sight appeal. Future sponsored events will be published on this page, so look back often!

On Wednesday 11th August I will be attempting to drive a steam train at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. I am blind with retinitis pigmentosa, which is caused by defective genes, and hopefully the locomotive will look the same at the end of the challenge.

  The Island group of RP Fighting Blindness will be using the beauty of the Isle of Wight to ram home its message that in a few years time, those who have lost their sight through Retinitis Pigmentosa could have their sight restored in the future, and then will be able to enjoy the beauty of the Island as well.

  Several members of the RP group will also be taking over some of the jobs involved in running a railway, such as signalling, guarding, ticket collecting etc. We hope to be joined by Louisa Lytton, who has appeared in Eastenders, The Bill and Strictly come dancing, who has RP in the family.

All are welcome on the day at Havenstreet on the Isle of Wight and the steam railway have kindly waived admission prices for the day so that people can donate to the eye love sight appeal. However, prices to ride the train (for the brave amonst us) remain.

The appeal will run over the remainder of the 2 years left on a research project being undertaken at Southampton Hospital, under the leadership of Professor Andrew Lotery. The aim of this project is to determine whether adult stem-cells can be taken from the iris at the front of the eye and transplanted to the retina at the back of the eye in order to grow photo receptor cells. If this procedure is successful it will pave the way for treatment trials in the not too distant future. 

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.