Anglers reel in £10,000 to fund pal’s urgent eye op
A GROUP of friends raised more than £10,000 in less than a fortnight for a pal who needs an urgent eye operation to save his sight.
Dad of two Terry Bromwell has a degenerative eye condition called keratoconus, which means he could lose his sight unless he has surgery not available on the NHS.
It costs at least £9,000 for the entire procedure so friends of Terry, who is an international angler, have come to his rescue.
Fellow angler Rob Bending, who competes alongside Terry on the British Fly Fishing Team, launched the campaign, which included online fundraising, various events and auctioning prizes like fishing trips.
Rob, who has known Terry for 10 years, said: “The fly fishing community is very closeknit.
“We have got friends all over the world and donations have come from as far afield as New Zealand.
“I set it up and didn’t expect it to turn into what it did. It went through the roof.
“People have come together and raised over £10,000 in a week and a half. It is unbelievable.”
Speaking about the keratoconus, Rob said: “It’s a degenerative condition and it’s getting worse and worse all the time.
“I have never known anything like it. He has to wear contact lenses that cover his entire eye.
“They have worked for a time but they might only work for a handful of years.
“He’s struggling with his sight already and they might make his eyes dry out.
“Terry doesn’t deserve this at all. He has young kids and he’s potentially going to miss seeing their growing up years as well as struggling for work.
“He would not be able to be in the team if his condition got worse, and he is a very successful angler, so that would be awful.”
Any excess money not needed for his operation will go to charity, he added.
Rob said donations for Terry, 34, and who is from Gilfach Goch in Rhondda Cynon Taf, have even come in from people he has not even met.
He added: “I think it’s because he’s so well known.
“Even if they haven’t met him, they know he’s a lovely guy and so they donated a lot.
“People have been very positive and are bending over backwards for him.”
Terry said just one in 2,000 people have the condition, adding: “I have come to the end of the road. It was caught a little bit late and I have bloodshot eyes all the time.
“When I go home after work sometimes I can’t even see my children’s faces.”
Describing his shock at hearing about the efforts, Terry said: “I didn’t know anything about it at all. Rob told me he had set it up and from there it just went nuts.
“I have made a lot of friends through fly fishing and I guess people think I’m a bit of a character and so they have helped me out. I’m especially grateful to Rob and everyone who attended the Hanak Grayling Festival in Llangollen which happened earlier this month.
“It has been a very emotional experience, to be honest. The support has been amazing.”
To donate to the cause visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ terrybromwell