Wolverhampton teenager: Let me see the world before blindness hits

Wolverhampton teenager Chelsey Cartwright suffers from a rare degenerative eye disease but has has vowed to see as much as the world as she can before she goes blind.

Chelsey Cartwright, aged 17, centre, with 12-year-old sister Kaylie Cartwright and mother Vicqui Cartwright, 40

As a child Chelsey was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare degenerative eye disease which severely impairs sight and often leads to blindness.

She has lived with the condition for as long as she can remember. Chelsey gets disorientated walking into a crowded room, her tunnel vision meaning she has to keep looking around to make sure she doesnt bump into anything.

Reading books and doing school work poses its own set of problems. Everything has to be magnified or the words are just a scrambled blur.

She also struggles to adjust to changes in light, and cant see at all in dusky conditions. One day in the future, she will lose her sight completely.

When I was little I didnt realise how serious it was, said Chelsey, who lives in Parkfields with her parents and younger sister.

It was only when I wasnt allowed to go on school trips because of my disease I started to feel left out and secluded.

I used to think it would be easier if I just stayed at home in my bedroom, but I realised there is no point in dwelling on it.

I told myself I wouldnt let it beat me.

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Wolverhampton teenager: Let me see the world before blindness hits