A woman from Birmingham will be walking the length of Hadrian’s Wall in a bid to raise awareness of Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-Service men and women, which began to support her dad shortly before he died.
Janine Mussett will be joined by her partner, Paul, and two friends, Helen and Roger, for the 84-mile challenge. The group will be raising money and awareness of Blind Veterans UK and a Staffordshire based breast cancer charity which is close to their hearts.
Janine’s dad, Joe, served in the Army with the Royal Anglian Regiment. During his service he completed three tours of Northern Ireland but never spoke of his experience.
Joe lost his sight due to macular degeneration in his late 60s. He was only 71 when he died and sadly the family only found out about the support available from Blind Veterans UK a few months before.
Setting off from Carlisle on June 1, the group are expecting to take six days to complete the walk and reach Newcastle. While on the walk, two poignant dates will be marked, the first anniversary of Joe’s death and the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Janine says:
“By doing this walk, and wearing a Blind Veterans UK t-shirt, I want to make sure that other veterans know about the charity as the support that my dad was offered was amazing. He was really looking forward to getting involved with the charity and especially staying at one of the centres for a holiday.
“Dad was affected by his sight loss massively, he was such an independent man and losing his sight took his choices away from him, he suddenly had to rely on others.
“He found life with sight loss lonely, people would walk past and smile at him, but he wouldn’t know they had.
“Getting a white cane made a huge difference to dad as people knew to say hello rather than to just smile and he was no longer seen as the rude man sat in the corner.
“I believe that with the support of Blind Veterans UK, dad would have regained even more independence and I want to make sure that others who are eligible don’t miss out. For me, raising awareness of the charity is my biggest goal but we are also hoping to raise money along the way.”
Janine has already raised £210 for Blind Veterans UK. If you would like to support her please visit her Just Giving page: justgiving.com/page/Janine-mussett
If you are inspired to take on your own challenge in June for Armed Forces Month please visit the Blind Veterans UK website for details on how you can get involved: blindveterans.org.uk/armedforcesmonth
Blind Veterans UK supports thousands of blind veterans across the country, but knows there are many thousands more who still need its support to rebuild their lives after sight loss.
If you, or someone you know, served in the Armed Forces, including National Service, and are now struggling with sight loss, then please get in touch. Call 0800 389 7979 or visit blindveterans.org.uk/gethelp
