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THE Fairy Queen Dream Team rides again......for the second year running this inspiring and amazing cycling Dream Team rides the Ride London 100 event - 100 miles with 'leg-testing climbs and a route made famous by the world’s best cyclists at the London 2012 Olympics, it's a truly spectacular event for all involved.' Not withstanding their dashing pink inspired cycling outfits....

This year the team is 20 strong with men and women pitting their strength and support towards raising critical funds to keep up the research into Aniridia by Professor Julie Daniels and Dr Victoria Tovell at Moorfield's Eye Hospital. All monies raised go directly to the research with no overhead admin costs or fees.

Last year the team raised £8,000 and donated £1,000 to ANUK (www.aniridia.org.uk) who directly support and help families in the UK and abroad affected by Aniridia. There will be a donation also made this year to support their tireless work.

A Day In Ella's Shoes

Imagine if you had to spend the day without your irises - yes those coloured things in your eyes you maybe take for granted that provide you with much needed protection. Imagine if your eyes hadn't developed correctly and even without your irises your fovea and optic nerve didn't send the right messages to your brain and so what you 'saw' and what it 'was' were maybe 2 different things....and then the next thing and the next. You'd get tired right? You'd get stressed right? Would you have the patience to stay calm, carry on and work through it? Would you get annoyed that things weren't accessible 'now, yesterday' and your technology had to be adapted and it might take you double the time to do something?

How a relatively 'unsunny' day can cause you severe headache and you can't stand to open your eyes most of the time outside as its a bit like having a spotlight shone in your face. Imagine having little or no depth perception - not being able to judge how far things are from you, where the stairs are, where the wall ends and the door starts. Imagine bumping into things and not feeling confident enough to run freely and know which way you're going and not have to worry. 

Imagine relying on those around you for navigation of the smallest place/thing unless you have learned and added to that large library in your head that categorizes and remembers everything and every detail you felt/smelt or needed for next time - if people haven't moved items and changed everything so you just have to learn it all over again. Imagine the panic and anxiety you might face from the world on a daily basis and how the smallest silly things we 'sighted' people take for granted can be so hard and scary for those like Ella.

Imagine always worrying about eye pressure, loss of sight, changes in vision and operations and eye drops and generally being poked about.

It's probably great you only have to imagine. She has to live with this and she does with courage and bravery and guts and determination even after her recent bilateral retinal detachment. Yep, maybe you would have wobbled at that too.

It's not a negative picture but we're trying to show you what the challenges are - and those with Aniridia rise to them inspiringly so. They don't want pity but they'd like a chance and so that's what we're doing - supporting the chance for things to improve.

Compared to larger charities and fundraising, it has a rare and small presence, yet the effects are felt just as much by those families and individuals involved as they sometimes struggle in our completely 'visual' world.We are thrilled to be able to support work towards Aniridia and towards the safeguarding of sight for years to come. So get your pennies out and send them over to the FQDT - they're going to do the ride of their lives for this little special girl and her buddies and they need your support!

Thank you