MARCH: Eye op that transformed my life

GRANDMotHER-of-four Shirley white, 83, a retired payroll clerk, lives in Horsham, west Sussex, with husband Arthur, 86, a retired electrical engineer. thanks to a cornea transplant, Shirley was able to see her grandson Joshua, 24, get married in March.

SHIRLEY SAYS: I’d never heard of my condition, Fuchs’ dystrophy, when I was diagnosed. It causes the cornea in the front of your eye to become cloudy, making you blind, and it’s meant to be genetic, but no one in my family had had it.

My sight in my right eye slowly deteriorated; I could barely see out of it and had to use a magnifying glass all the time.

Reading was really hard, as was walking because I couldn’t see the pavement properly. So I was hesitant to go out: even when I did I was very nervous about it.

The transplant has transformed my life: my vision slowly got better and I could read properly again. If I hadn’t had the transplant I would have been totally blind in that eye by now — it would have limited my life, let alone my hopes of seeing Joshua’s wedding in March.

I managed to see my granddaughter Natalie graduate last month, too. The sight in my other eye is now deteriorating, and I’ll need another transplant.

It is incredible what the donor’s family has done for me. I wrote anonymously to them to say thank you but words will never be enough.