In 2014 I was diagnosed with a condition called Keratoconus, meaning the front of my eye is conical rather than spherical, which in turn means that light enters my eye in a different way to usual. In the last year the condition has worsened considerably faster than is normal (the condition usually progresses until your mid-thirties then stabilises, but mine is progressing far too fast and as I'm only 24 it's a big worry for the optometrists working with me.) I suffer with severe double vision in my right eye and it's pretty much useless at the moment; I'm unable to see without the aid of a rigid contact lens, but as I found out a few weeks ago that's only exacerbating the situation meaning I can no longer wear it and have to make do with workable sight only in my left eye, the contact lens previous was compressing the cone on the front of my eye causing severe irritation and progression of the condition which can result in blindness, and as I've been told by my optometrist this is a very real possibility.

Being a photographer I'm sure you can imagine the thought of losing my sight even in one eye is that bit more painful and scary. The options I have ahead of me are two options, the first of which is called corneal collagen cross-linking and is a simple procedure that doesn't cost a great deal and can even be done on the NHS for free, however my optometrist is concerned that my cornea is too thin for the procedure to be done successfully, and I'm currently on the waiting list for a consultation about this to determine if that's the case. Option two is a full cornea transplant which is a much bigger operation and one that I've been told is not to be taken lightly; the success rate is very high and 40,000 are done per year in America alone, so it's nothing for me to worry about the implications of, however it is expensive unless I'm willing to wait a long time for the NHS which my optometrist advised against. This surgery, using a private company, is around 1000GBP not including the consultations needed prior to the actual procedure, and that's where you come in.

It's important that I get this issue sorted before my sight goes completely, complicating matters considerably, I'd love to be able to afford to go private myself but I just can't at the moment and that's why I set up this page, so if anyone has a spare fiver lying around I'd REALLY appreciate the help in getting this problem sorted. As you can imagine it's a huge source of anxiety and stress for me at the moment and my right eye being so bad is really affecting my daily life (3D vision, itchiness, tiredness etc) and now that I finally have options I'd love to pursue them as quickly as possible as suggested by my specialist.

Once again, ANYTHING you can donate would be absolutely amazing, I truly do appreciate all the support and I'd love to have some help in getting this small chapter of my life filed away (and maybe be able to have good vision again!).