'Losing my sight at 50 won't stop me in life'

8 hours ago

Alice CunninghamSuffolk

News image — Dawn Blezard has now lost her vision

Contributed A woman smiles at the camera. She has blonde hair which has been French braided. She is wearing a dark blue T-shirt. — Dawn Blezard has now lost her vision

Dawn Blezard has slowly been losing her eyesight over the past six years and now has been registered as legally blind.

The 50-year-old, from Sudbury, Suffolk, was diagnosed with Stargardt's disease following a routine eye test in 2020.

In the past year, she has now lost most of her sight and said it had been difficult to come to terms with no longer being able to see the faces of her grandchildren.

Blezard said she could still see colours and refused to give up on her future as she looked to walk part of the Jurassic Coast in the south west of the country.

Blezard found out she had the rare genetic disease after she had the back of her eyes scanned to check their health.

Last May, she told the BBC she had lost vision in her left eye with her other deteriorating.

But both have now completely diminished with Blezard stating that "lots of things have changed".

Contributed A woman sits on the floor with her head resting atop of her hands. She is sitting in a yoga pose with her legs crossed. She wears blue, yellow and black leggings in an animal print pattern with a blue top. There is a lime green sofa behind her. — Blezard still continues to teach yoga in Sudbury

"The way I describe it is each day you lose a piece of your vision," she explained.

"It's not instant with this disease... you can think at least you've got time to see the things that you want to see as the disease progresses.

"But each week there'll be something that you could do last week that you can't do this week, so it's like grieving every week."

She added: "Also what I've found is that my hearing's massively improved, my sense of smell, my sense of touch have developed, but I can no longer see my grandchildren's faces."

Contributed Mrs Blezard and some of the team stand at the top of a mountain. They all wear matching yellow T-shirts over the top of warmer clothes. — Blezard (far left) raised more than £1,500 for the Macular Society after taking on the Three Peaks Challenge last year

Blezard has been teaching yoga for about 16 years and continues to do so which she said helps her remain so positive.

She also recently started her own podcast called, Seeing Within, where she speaks to others with sight loss, giving them a space to share their experiences which she felt was incredibly rewarding.

Last year she took on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, walking 30 miles (48km) in aid of the Macular Society, which supported her during her diagnosis.

Despite the decline in her vision, she wanted to take on another walk this year and on 4 July will walk 36 miles (57km) along the Jurassic Coast in aid of the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

"I have a choice, I can sit on the couch and do nothing, or I could just give it a go and see what happens from there," she said.

She added: "This year's walk isn't for me at all, it's really to get out into the world, that no matter what you're going through, you can do this.

"It's to bring awareness to everybody that there's so many different eye diseases in the UK, there's so many different levels of visually impaired or being blind."