Visually impaired Elgin man to visit 272 London Underground stops to raise money for North East Sensory Services
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A VISUALLY impaired Elgin man will visit 272 London Underground stops in just two days next month to raise funds for a north east charity.
Garry Ritchie (49) will take on 'The Tube Challenge' on March 24 and 25 to give back to North East Sensory Services (NESS) - the charity which has helped the Moray local adapt to his sight loss the most.
Garry said: "This is my way of giving back to NESS after all they've done for me.
"I'm looking forward to it. It'll be difficult given how busy London is and having to navigate quite a lot of stations but it is a challenge and I'm looking forward to that aspect of it.
"Obviously there is a little bit of anxiety given my condition but in my opinion, if you're asking people to give up their hard earned money then it needs to be a challenge."
The dad-of-one, who works as a project engineer for an oil and gas company, was diagnosed with a condition known as Retinitis Pigmintosa in 2013. The condition causes a loss of peripheral vision and difficulty seeing in the dark - symptoms that have been challenging for Garry.
"I was shocked when I was diagnosed," Garry said.
"I had looked into it myself so I had a general idea of what I could have but being told what it was and that it's a condition that can't be cured was obviously a shock.
"I had a bit of a grieving period because I had to give up a lot of things like driving.
"I've had to adapt. I wasn't aloud to do any work offshore so I'm purely office based now as well and when I commute I have to take the train.
"NESS have given me training on how to use a long cane so they have helped me hold onto some kind of freedom."
Garry will be accompanied by long-time family friend Tracey Morris. She will act as his sighted guide as they navigate every main-line tube station in London.
The pair have set an initial fundraising target of £500 but have already smashed that after raising £675 so far.
"I raised £500 for NESS when I did a skydive in Fife so that was our target this time around as well.
"We're already over that between us though. I'm sitting close to that on my own and Tracey has a good amount as well so that's great."
NESS provides support services for people with hearing and visual impairments. It works in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee and Moray.
Garry's fundraising page can be found here.
