I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) when I was 7 years old, but never truly felt the impact of it until I lost my sight in 2016 from having cataract surgery which antagonised my sight from 85% to now just 7%.

It completely changed my world and I really struggled to comprehend with that as it was so unexpected.

One of the things I was more upset about was that I felt I could no longer run anymore as I was quite an avid runner prior to my sight loss.

I kept ‘blagging it’ until I could no longer do it and had to finally consider guide running, which initially I was very reluctant to do.

Little did I know, how empowering and and freeing being guided is. It helped me have the independence and confidence to achieve my goals and targets from guide runners that I have been fortunate enough to have met.

I love running more now than I ever had done before because I know just how important it is for me to have in my life. I feel mentally and physically fit at the level of sight loss I have, whereas it may not had been the case.

I overcame my negativity towards sight loss and found ways to regain back some of the control that my condition could have taken over. It is all about just living in the moment for me now and making the best of situations and opportunities that come ahead.