Ian Slack is a former soldier and keen rugby player. He is raising money for Blind Veterans UK at the final three rugby matches he takes part in before he retires from the sport that he can no longer play, given the potential danger it poses to his eyesight.

Ian's excellent career as an Army Officer in the Royal Engineers was suddenly cut short when an accident in 1997 saw him completely lose the sight in his right eye and have to be medically discharged from duty. Some years
later Ian suffered further eyesight problems when a rare eye infection caused him to temporarily lose the sight in his other eye. For a period of weeks Ian knew what it was to suffer from blindness. Ian eventually recovered and now is
determined to raise funds for blind and vision impaired veterans throughout the UK.

Speaking about his fundraising challenge aptly named 'Finally Seen Sense', Ian said: "I cannot put into words what being blind for a time was like. It was an extremely isolating and unsettling experience, which has most certainly left its mark.

"The things that I found most helpful during this time were the smaller, perhaps more straight forward things - the technological gadgets that allowed me to see the computer screen better by magnifying it and hear my messages by having them dictated to me.

"I really regret that I have to retire from playing rugby which I have been passionate about for nearly 40 years. Raising money for Blind Veterans UK at my final three matches will be a great way to end this on a high."

To help Ian fundraise for Blind Veterans UK please visit: www.justgiving.com/ianslack