Blind veteran urges others to take on a challenge

In October, Chris and his son Ryan joined thousands of other runners taking on the ten-mile Great South Run along Portsmouth’s seafront and through the historic dockyard.

Chris, who is 54 and from Portsmouth, said:

“I’ve never been one for running; before taking on this challenge, the last time I ran ten miles was probably in 1990!”

Great South Run

Taking on the Great South Run was his son’s idea. Ryan wanted to raise money as a thank you for the support we’ve provided to his dad. Chris’ wife then suggested that Chris should join him. Chris said:

“Ryan acted as my guide; I was tethered to him as I am completely blind in one eye and only have around 20% vision in the other.

“It was a hard slog; I didn’t achieve the time I wanted. We finished in around three hours, but I’m not a runner and we didn’t come last which is the most important thing. I’m quite happy with that. Just finishing was an achievement."

“I got a blister and hobbled the last three or four miles, but I didn’t stop. I raised £568 for Blind Veterans UK, every penny counts and it feels great to give something back to the charity.”

Army 

Chris joined the Army in 1986 when he was 17-years-old. He had intended to join the Royal Navy but by chance he came across an Army recruitment officer and signed up.

Following his training at Deepcut Barracks, Chris served with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps as an ammunitions storesman before becoming a staff clerk assigned to the Adjutant General’s Corps. His final posting was with the Royal Military Police based in Chichester.

In 1995, Chris was medically discharged from the Army as a lance corporal after developing type one diabetes. He went on to work for Hampshire Constabulary, the prison service and a local college.

Sight loss

At the age of 52, Chris discovered he was losing his sight and was diagnosed with anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy in both eyes which is caused by damage to the optic nerve. He said:

“It was a bolt out of the blue, totally unexpected. It felt like all the plans my wife and I had made, now that our children were old enough to look after themselves, were no longer going to be possible.”

Support from our charity

Chris began being supported by our charity in 2021. He said:

“I have experienced so much since joining Blind Veterans UK, I’ve done things I’d never even thought about doing before and re-visited other things that I thought I’d never get to experience again.

“I’ve been on a target week which included axe throwing, archery and clay pigeon. Out of 24 targets, I successfully hit 18; I was pleased with that. Driving week at the charity’s Centre of Wellbeing in Llandudno saw me trying quad bikes, go karts and hovercraft.

“While on these stays, we get three meals a day, entertainment, fantastic accommodation and amazing activities; there is nowhere else that I’d get to experience all that.

“You also get to spend time with other blind veterans and within ten minutes of meeting, we are all chatting and sharing stories. You make friendships and the staff are brilliant. Nothing is ever too much for them.

“I am quite adventurous and I will give anything a go. I intend to experience as much as I can with Blind Veterans UK and I also want to support the charity as much as I can hence putting on a pair of running shoes and challenging myself to run ten miles for the first time in around 30 years!”