DJ and club promoter Tom Thorpe is going the extra mile.
Tom will be joining thousands of runners to take on the 26.2 mile challenge across London city to support Fight for Sight. His main inspiration is his friend and fellow DJ, Laura Jones.
Laura was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, a rare inherited condition, in 2008 and often wears her trademark sunglasses whilst dj-ing. The condition causes the light-sensitive cells in the retina to deteriorate, resulting in central vision loss and in some cases, total blindness. There is currently no cure for the disease, so funding for continued research into this area is crucial if developments are to be made.
Fight for Sight’s current research programme is focusing on preventing and treating age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and cataract. We are also funding research into the causes of childhood blindness and a large number of rare eye diseases.
“I wanted to run the London Marathon having witnessed my amazing friend Laura’s struggle with her sight. If I can help her and anyone else diagnosed with the condition by raising money for the charity then it would be a pleasure and an honour.” said Tom.
The condition currently affects Laura’s central sight and she has 30% of her visual field remaining added: “Despite living with the condition for the past eight years – I have been fortunate enough to be able to continue to DJ. I’m incredibly lucky to have such supportive friends who are going the extra mile and I’m glad we are able to support the charity. Best of luck to Tom I will be supporting you every step of the way.”
To support Tom and Laura’s and Fight for Sight, please visit http://www.justgiving.com/Tom-Thorpe1.
