By Kristina Beanland

Copyright metro

Jamie was diagnosed with a hereditary eye condition (Picture: Jamie Ward)

As Jamie Ward admired the blues and oranges of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, he felt overcome with emotion.

But the 61-year-old wasn’t just moved by seeing this world-famous painting in real-life.

Just six months earlier, he’d been diagnosed with a hereditary eye condition, and he was quickly losing his sight.

‘It ended up being the last picture I ever saw,’ Jamie, from Surrey, tells Metro.

Three years ago, Jamie was enjoying life with his partner of 20 years, Ray, and their labradoodle, Barlow. ‘He’s named after Gary, not Ken,’ Jamie adds.

When he wasn’t at his busy job in TV, he enjoyed travelling, and spending time with friends and family. ‘I was one of those annoying people who’d get up at 5.30am to run, and then I’d ride into central London on my Vespa,’ he says. ‘It was one of the best parts of my day.’

But in April 2022, Jamie went to the opticians for an eye test. The short appointment would change the course of his life forever.

‘I was having the pressures in my eye checked,’ Jamie explains. ‘It’s the test lots of people will be familiar with where they puff air into your eyes. It’s to look for conditions like glaucoma.’

Jamie travelled around phrase, taking in the scenery one last time (Picture: Jamie Ward)

But Jamie says the readings were much higher than expected, and when using his left eye, he couldn’t read any of the letters on the chart.

‘By the next week, when I had a follow up appointment, I couldn’t even see the chart,’ he says.

After a barrage of tests, including an MRI brain scan, as well as seeking expert help from Moorfields Eye Hospital, Jamie was diagnosed with Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), in May 2022.

LHON is a hereditary condition which causes blindness, most commonly diagnosed in young men between the ages of 18 and 30. The main symptom is a sudden loss of central vision, which can affect both eyes, either at the same time, or one may lose sight after the first. The vision loss is almost always permanent.

Jamie’s older brother, Mark, had been diagnosed with the same condition years earlier, aged 24. Jamie says: ‘I had asked a few times if it was LHON, but the medics said it was impossible because I was too old.

‘So the day I was finally diagnosed, it came as a shock. They told me that I’d lose my sight within three to six months.

‘I just felt numb. You can’t really process it. Afterwards, a doctor took my blood pressure, and asked if it was normal for me for my readings to be so high. I remember saying: “You just told me I’m going blind, mate!”‘

In the weeks and months following his diagnosis Jamie says he had to grieve the loss of his vision, and calls the process ‘traumatic.’

He adds: ‘People don’t know how to react when you tell them you’re going blind.

‘I had a lot of odd comments: “You don’t look blind,” or “I know someone who’s blind and they’re fine.” A particularly strange one was: “At least you won’t be able to see your wrinkles.” I was also given a lot of unhelpful advice.’

And while coming to terms with his diagnosis, Jamie had the idea to start a vision bucket list.

‘I started thinking about all the things I wanted to see before I couldn’t anymore,’ he explains.

Goals included travelling around France and heading to Athens to see the Acropolis. He says: ‘I lived in France for three years and I’m fluent in French.

‘The country has so many amazing memories for me, so we went all over the place. We went to the Southern French Alps, the Cévennes Mountains and the Dordogne. What I saw will be imprinted on my memory forever.’

Having always loved art, Jamie also wanted to visit as many London art galleries as possible.

Jamie’s new commute to work (Picture: Jamie Ward)

‘I started at the Tate Britain because it’s close to my office. I’d try and leave work early and wonder around the galleries. I also wanted to see the Turner Paintings at the National Gallery, as I’ve always engaged with them.

‘I remember that day, when I went to see Sunflowers, I sat on a bench looking at it for an hour. Other people were just walking past, barely glancing at it.’

But Jamie says that, when ticking off his vision bucket list, it became clear that spending time with his loved one was the most important goal of all.

‘My focus shifted,’ he says. ‘I realised it was about watching TV with Ray, or spending time with my nieces and nephews, and their children.

‘For those I couldn’t physically visit, I’d look through photos of them.’

As the medics predicted, Jamie realised his vision was deteriorating six months from initial diagnosis.

‘I was watching Only Connect and I couldn’t read the clues,’ he says. ‘Up to that point, I’d been in a bit of denial, but that’s when I realised this was really happening.’

Jamie says he went into overdrive preparing for the inevitable, estimating he had around six weeks before he lost his eyesight.

‘I reached out to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) who provided really useful advice and guidance on how to relearn how to use my iPhone, where to go to get long cane training, and provided the occupational assessment so I could get the technology I needed at work.

‘I was determined to carry on working,’ says Jamie. ‘I have a fabulous job and work with wonderful people.’

Now, Jamie can only make out shadows, outlines of shapes and, as he says, ‘not much else’. ‘My niece recently had a baby, and I’ll never see her,’ he says.

But throughout his journey, Jamie has been determined to prove that he can continue to live his life, without vision.

As part of this, he’s continued to run, which he says ‘helped him process the trauma.’

‘Walking and running are amazing for your mindset. Running with my friend and guide runner, Ian Walker, has been, not to put too fine a point on it, a lifesaver.’

Jamie will be running in the Royal Parks Half on Sunday (Picture: Jamie Ward)

This weekend, Jamie and Ian will be taking part in the Royal Parks Half Marathon. Between them they’re aiming to raise £10,000 for RNIB to help the charity continue its work.

The event on Sunday October 12 will see Jamie compete alongside 16,000 other runners, supported on the day by his husband, Ray, and colleagues Libby, Isabella, Matt and Lowri, who are also taking part. Jamie also credits his parents and older brother Mark for instilling him with a strong work ethic and desire to make the most out of life.

‘With the right support from fantastic organisations like RNIB, blind and partially sighted people can do pretty much anything.

‘I mean, there are some limits: I wouldn’t want a blind dentist or brain surgeon come to that. But most jobs can be made to be accessible.

‘And yet only one in four blind people of working age are in work. That is a shameful statistic.

‘So, my message to everyone when meeting a blind person at work or doing sport: be an ally and break down barriers, don’t put them up.

“I have utmost sympathy and understanding for anyone who is going through sight loss who wants to retreat within themselves and stay in a place of safety — let’s call it the sofa. But with the right support you can get off the sofa and get back to doing nearly everything that you did before and more.’

And, once he’s crossed the finish line, Jamie has more challenges up his sleeve.

‘I have started the Thames Path and the South West Coast Path in Dorset. The latter is full of cliffs so I’ll try not to fall off.

‘Life is beautiful,’ he says. ‘And I want to get as much out of it as possible.’

To donate to Jamie’s run, go to either his fundraising page here or his guide runner Ian’s fundraising page here.

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