Warwickshire deaf and blind woman’s agonizing decision to become a mother

A deaf-blind Warwickshire woman who has raised £400,000 for charity is ‘working tirelessly’ to raise awareness of a rare genetic disease. Accounts manager Debbie White, 59, has Usher syndrome type II, which causes hearing impairment and progressive vision loss due to retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Retinitis pigmentosa occurs as a result of the exhaustion of light-sensing cells, eventually leading to vision loss.

There is currently no cure for Usher Syndrome Type II, which recently made headlines after Britney, a character in the soap opera EastEnders, was diagnosed with the condition. Debbie began to slowly lose her sight and hearing as a child, but was not diagnosed until she was 21, after her younger brother, then 17, was found to have the condition.

As head of the Warwickshire Fight for Sight Committee for over 30 years, Debbie has worked tirelessly to raise funds for the charity’s pioneering research. In addition to the Annual Golf Day, she has organized a multitude of fundraising activities including scuba diving, zip lining, bike challenges, gala dinners and night walks.

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Although Debbie recognizes that there may not be a breakthrough in her lifetime to reverse her vision loss, she is dedicated to enabling research that will benefit others living with vision loss in the future. Debbie said: “It’s very hard to lose two senses, both mentally and physically, and it’s especially hard to come to terms with it at a young age.

“While I hope that my brother and I will be part of the discovery of new treatments for Usher syndrome type II, what motivates me is that I made the decision not to have children because I did not want to pass this condition on. and I want to make sure that no child in the future has to go through what we went through.”

A 29th annual Golf Day will be held on July 3 at Stoneleigh Deer Park Golf Club as part of their fundraising efforts. For more information, go here