RD Ramblers
About
I was diagnosed with a retinal detachment in my right eye and retinal tears in my left eye in April 2014, whilst on holiday in Berlin. Retinal detachment is a medical emergency, and will lead to blindness in the affected eye if not treated. Although 85-90% of retinal detachments are successfully treated with the first surgery, unfortunately some of us aren't so lucky and have to undergo further surgeries.
Since that first detachment, I've suffered multiple re-detachments and undergone five operations to save my sight, three of which have been carried out at Moorfields. Now almost six years down the line, I have severely limited vision in my right eye as well as an eyeful of silicone oil which is quite literally holding my retina in place. I have regular appointments at Moorfields so that they can check for potential complications as a result of the oil, and monitor my good eye. Fortunately, the two retinal tears in my left eye were successfully repaired and I'm very lucky to have excellent vision in that eye at the moment, despite a bunch of floaters, lattice degeneration, and a cataract. However, the overwhelming fear of further sight loss is something I continue to battle with on a daily basis. One method of countering this fear is to take action to help other people affected by sight loss, and this is why I'll be taking part in the fourteen-mile Eye to Eye walk in March 2020 along with my sister, Lucy, and any other ramblers who fancy joining our team!
Moorfields Eye Hospital performs sight saving operations every day and is involved in pioneering research to discover new ways of saving eyesight. We hope that by taking part in Eye to Eye, people will help us to raise as much money as possible in order to support this vital research. All the money we raise as a team will go specifically towards research into retinal conditions.
To read more about the daily reality of life as a retinal detachment patient as well as my obsession with optics and news of our fundraising efforts, check out my blog at: https://rdramblings.wordpress.com.