We are trying to help fund the purchase of an Orcam MyEye for Simon.

Simon is the son of a very good friend and he has the very rare (possibly the only UK case) and very unpleasant condition, Mucormycosis. This fungal disease is often life threatening but in Simon’s case is currently stabilised thanks to the superb and expert help from the specialists at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK.

Alas the disease has already taken the vision from one of Simon’s eyes and has severely reduced the vision through the other eye making him almost blind. Simon is only 45 and this technology which converts visual input to audio input and includes pattern and face recognition could allow him to once again read, interact with people more easily, receive email from friends and potentially become more self-sufficient. He is currently entirely dependent on his mother for his day to day care.

If you can give anything it will be unbelievably appreciated. We will be running a pop-up Italian restaurant one Saturday in July in my home village of Welford-on-Avon, Warwickshire where Simon’s mother was a resident from 1998 to 2005 with further fundraising activities to be planned.

This is a big ask to raise so much for a specific solution for one person. However the quality of life impact would be enormous, the drugs required to keep Simon’s condition under control are strong (e.g posaconazole) with side-effects so anything which makes life more bearable is just going to be fantastic for him.

Although it is probably unlikely we will exceed the fund raising target any excess will be donated to the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) in the absence of knowing anyone else with Mucormycosis. The RNIB already retail the Orcam MyEye we are seeking funding towards.

Thank you so much to anyone who can help. If you know someone who also has this terrible disease please get do get in touch.

Peter