Blind veteran thanks his community ahead of South Coast Ultra

Blind veteran Stu from West Sussex has been blown away by the support he’s received from his local community ahead of his fundraising challenge for our charity.

In just over a week, 51-year-old Stu, who lives in Worthing, is set to walk 57km alongside nine fellow blind veterans as they take on the South Coast Ultra. 

Stu will set off from Eastbourne to walk along the South Downs Way with the rest of the Blind Veterans UK team, all of whom have set themselves their own personal goal to walk 25km, 57km or 100km. 

Stu would like to thank Altitude Lightning Protection, Plane Carpentry Ltd, Beach Bakery, Trax Health and Fitness, JJ&H Accounting, Wessex Compressors, Ear Tech and Mike Nolan Foot Tech for the substantial donations they have made. He says:

"These donations will all ensure blind veterans like myself can continue to receive vital, life changing support.”

Sight loss

Stu lost his sight four years ago due to a brain injury. He suffered a respiratory arrest and a delay in being resuscitated meant his brain was starved of oxygen. He spent three years in hospital, initially placed in an induced coma and then receiving rehabilitation. He says: 

“I’m coming up to my first-year anniversary of being out of hospital. I am lucky to be alive as there was a point where they considered turning off my life support. When I first discovered that my sight loss was not fixable, I had to get my head around it and then I knew I had two choices, not having a life or taking life by the horns and seizing any opportunity that came my way.”

Our support

We began to support Stu in September 2024. He says:

“The support I’ve had from Blind Veterans UK has been nothing short of phenomenal. I’ve achieved so much; I couldn’t even make myself a coffee back then but now I have been given the opportunity to have my life again and I want to give back to the charity."

Stu hopes to raise awareness of the support offered by our charity as well as fundraise so that we can support even more blind veterans. He says:

“I was so pleased when venues such as The Bulls Head, Ye olde House at Home, Toby Carvery, The Quill and The Mulberry offered to not only support my fundraising but also display posters and flyers with access to information about the support offered by Blind Veterans UK and the impact it has on veterans such as myself.

“Three years is a long time to have been out of the world. My ethos now is to seize every opportunity that comes my way and I’m proud to be walking with my blind veterans.”