My Story

This year I was lucky enough to get a place in the London Marathon ballot, which allows me to raise money for a cause near to my heart. 

I have chosed Olivia's Vision, a charity which raises awareness of an eye problem called Uveitis. Every year, an estimated 9,000 new case of uveitis are diagnosed in the UK, with uveitis now the third leading cause of avoidable blindness.

In September 2018 I was diagnosed with Uveitis. This is where the jelly at the back of your eye swells up and impacts on your vision - in my case it was like looking through a wee puddle, and I couldnt really see my own face in a reflection. So, slightly scary. 

Over the next 3.5 years, I was a regular visitor at the Glasgow Eye Hospital for treatment that included nasty steroids which caused weight gain, some other good stuff that compromised my immune system and meant I had to shield during the COVID lockdowns, and finally a steroid implant into my eye... even more scary. 

However in March 2022, I was finally signed off from the hospital, with all signs of it gone. I have been left with a heightened sensitivity to bright light, which makes running challenging sometimes. 

But I am running this marathon to celebrate being able to run. Being able to see, being able to run without feeling like I was wading through treacle (2019 was not a barrel of laughs) and to celebrate feeling like myself again. 

Thank you so much in advance for your donation, your support means the world to me, and will help carry me through some heavy miles.