Video transcript: Ellie’s story
Ellie:
My name is Ellie, I am 12 years old and I have the condition known as ROP, retinopathy of prematurity. I cannot see at all in my right eye and my left eye has limited vision.
I discovered I was visually impaired when I was very young, about three years old, when I thought everyone was like me. But then my parents were explaining how I couldn't see and that I was blind.
Dad, what's the date?
Ellie’s Dad:
Right, date on the homework is 1st April. There's three questions on addition…
Ellie was born 16 weeks early. She spent about four months in hospital, getting stronger and bigger.
Ellie:
Eleven…
Ellie’s Dad:
Yeah, and then your 80 plus 60...
Very close to the end of her stay in hospital we did find out that she was unfortunately blind. It was quite a shock to find out. But once we understood that we really had to take stock of the situation and start working on what life was going to be like for us, as parents of a blind child, and Ellie, what her life would be like growing up without sight. RNIB was a very good place to start because it gave us lots of information about what sort of services were available for Ellie as she grew up and as she grew older.
Ellie:
I managed to read through braille, which is a real help because I love reading. The RNIB always gives me lots of books to read and their library service is very good.
Ellie’s Dad:
Ellie undertakes quite a lot of sporting activities with the help of services like Actionnaires.
Ellie’s Dad:
Yeah, right to my voice, to my voice, to my voice. Excellent stuff, really well done.
Child:
[Go on Matt].
Ellie’s Dad:
Cricket, like climbing, canoeing, yachting, dragon boat racing even.
Ellie’s Dad:
Oh brilliant. That was a good ball.
Ellie’s Dad:
She's made lots of very firm friends from all over the country. So one of the good things about that is, is that they can share their experiences and how they cope with life. We never thought that she would have something like that.
Ellie:
For people who are already supporting RNIB I would just love to say thank you because it's really helped with all of us. We now have the resources we need and we need to get more and more of it.
Voice Over:
We truly appreciate your support. To contact us in the future call the Wills and Legacies Advisory Service on 0845 600 0313.Or visit rnib.org.uk/legacy. RNIB and Action for Blind People, working together to support blind and partially sighted people.
rnib.org.uk