MP Matt Western hears about Debbie’s fight for sight
Long-time Fight for Sight supporter Debbie White met with her local MP today [16 February 2018] to talk about her fight for sight. She and Matt Western, MP for Warwick and Leamington, discussed the realities of living with sight loss and how important it is for vital sight saving research to be supported. Debbie's own experiences with sight loss have led her to work closely with Fight for Sight to support efforts to fund more research work.
Debbie lives with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). This is the name given to a group of inherited disorders that affect the light-sensitive part of the eye (the retina) and result in progressive loss of vision. There is currently no cure.
Matt and Debbie spoke about the need to ensure that research into RP and other sight loss conditions is funded properly. At the moment, Fight for Sight can only fund on in every 8 of the research projects applications it receives.
Debbie is leading the way, having raised thousands over the years for the charity. She's currently recruiting volunteers to take to the sky with her on Saturday 5 May 2018 at Hinton Airfield near Brackley, Banbury. And not only has she signed up some of her local business contacts, she has also persuaded one of Fight for Sight's Directors to join her! Matt may not be ready to commit to the Skydive for Sight but said: “I was delighted to meet Debbie White to hear her sight loss story and hear about the fantastic fundraising she spearheads in our local community for the eye research charity Fight for Sight. As the population ages, more people will be living with sight loss and visual impairment in the future. We need to invest more into research to help tackle this growing need.”
Debbie added: "When you start losing your sight, you start losing your independence. I can't drive and I can't really go out at night on my own. But I do lots to help Fight for Sight and I was pleased to hear that Matt really understands the need for research and the need to invest in work to understand more about these conditions."
If you're interested in signing up to join the Skydive for Sight, click here for more details.