Thank you for taking the time to visit my Just Giving Page, I am raising funds for Dorset Blind Association and British Sjogrens Syndrome Association now called Sjögren's UK after a sudden and life-changing deterioration of a long term eye condition turned my world upside down.

I have had glaucoma, a very common eye condition for many years; it was well managed and stable. I was diagnosed with Sjögren's in 2017 and the combination of the two conditions collided in October 2019 and by September 2022 I was registered partially sighted, no longer able to drive, in constant pain and exhausted.

Sjögren's is a complex condition effecting everyone differently, for me it had the most devasting impact on my eyes. In just over 2 years I lost my tear function completely, try and imagine what it is like not being able to cry.

Tear function plays a vital role in eye health and the lack of that combined with the drying effect of glaucoma drops caused serious infections in my eyes which damaged the corneas. During covid trying to control the infections in my eyes remotely caused a catastrophic deterioration in my glaucoma resulting in significant peripheral vision loss.

Within months I had gone from a lively outgoing active individual to a shadow of my former self, constantly exhausted with the pain, struggling to navigate the world with eyes that no longer worked properly and needing constant management, unable to tolerate any change in environment going everywhere with very conspicuous dry eye goggles on robbed me of my self confidence and my world became a joyless place.

The mental health benefits of gardening have been well documented over the years and for me it has been my lifeline, the only place in times of such despair about the future that I felt vaguely calm.

There was no one more shocked than me after applying to take part in the BBC Garden Rescue TV programme to get an email saying I was one of the gardens to be rescued!

After appearing on the show I was taken by complete surprise just how much interest there was in me and my garden. It has given me the unexpected opportunity to share my love of gardening with others and talk about how it helps me cope with the difficulties I face daily with my ongoing sight loss and my autoimmune disorder.

That’s why I have decided to use the opportunity to share my passion with even more people and raise funds for charity at the same time. All proceeds from the event on the day will be split between Dorset Blind who support visually impaired and blind people across Dorset and Sjogrens UK who offer support and advice to sufferers in the UK and help fund much needed research into the disease.

I am so excited about sharing my garden with you all, it’s not a huge garden so please be patient if you have to wait to have a look round on the day (let’s hope so, we can get a Chelsea Flower Show vibe going on!!).

For those local to Shaftesbury please walk to Imber Road if you can.

For those travelling further afield the nearest car park is a few minutes walk away on Longmead, post code SP7 8PX What3Words wanted.widely.notes

Come and spend a lovely day out in Shaftesbury and enjoy all the town has to offer along with my lovely garden, well I think it’s lovely and I do hope you all do too.

For those of you who cannot be there in person but would still like to support my fundraiser with a donation please do, it would mean a great deal to me and please remember to tick the Gift Aid box if you are a UK Taxpayer as this will help to boost your donation to the charities.

Thank you and happy gardening x

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.