Hi everyone, my name is Chloe and I’m a 15 year old swimmer from Liverpool.

On the 27th of September 2024, I was informed I had a retinal detachment in my eye and had lost 80% of my vision, during a routine opticians appointment.

This came as a complete shock for me and my family as I had never had issues with my eyes before.

I was referred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital as an emergency, on the same day and was informed I would need urgent surgery to save my eye with an attempt to save my vision.

After my examinations and testing the date for my surgery was set for the 17th of October.

During a four and a half hour surgery, performed by Dr Chua and colleagues, two surgical buckles were attached to my inner eye to secure my retina to my eyeball.

Although the surgery was a success the recovery was rough and we were not certain I would regain any of my vision.

I am still attending my follow up appointments and am waiting to be officially discharged from the hospital, depending on the final tests.

Currently I am attending the opticians every three months to monitor the progression of my vision.

I am going to be walking and swimming a total distance of 84km to raise money for the hospital who helped save my eye.

Any donations would be grateful appreciated in support of this amazing Children’s Charity 💙