'Sea Cadets never let my sight loss get in my way'

Issy always dreamed of joining her big brother as a sea cadet.

She joined the Loughborough branch in Leicestershire two days after her 10th birthday - the official joining age - and was hooked from the first night.

But at the age of 13, Issy's life changed when she suffered a deterioration in her sight overnight, leaving doctors mystified.

"I just woke up one day and my vision was super blurry," she said. "I've been to hospital, had checks with my brain and they can't find anything."

Issy explained she was released from medical care after a few years and "felt lost".

She added: "I thought it was going to change everything at cadets, I'll be a health and safety risk - but the staff were really good, they said 'What can we do to help?'"

Issy, now 16, said that prior to becoming visually impaired she had "loved" her work with the cadets, adding: "You're learning in such a fun way you don't feel like you're learning, whilst at school it's so stressful.

"The tests you have to do, they make it seem so easy and do it in such a relaxed way."

It was the cadets which helped her after her eyesight deteriorated, as they let her join in all activities, even on the water.

"Boating I thought was going to be like end game and I was going to have to sit on the side," she said.

"But no, it was really good, I always have someone to help me and they say 'Let's just get on with it, we'll learn from our mistakes and keep going'.

"Now I've done every qualification I can do on the water".

Issy has had to adapt to her visual impairment in other areas, but, like her sea cadet career, she has continued to thrive.

She has just completed her First Aid at Work course and is getting ready to take her GCSEs.

At school, she uses large print to help her see the work. Her biggest problem is at night.

"In the dark, I can only see silhouettes and I can't tell who people are," she said. "I use a cane now to help me."

She has also praised the cadets for the adjustments they have made.

They painted white lines on all the steps and put glow in the dark tape around all the light switches.

She added: "At first, at age 13 it was difficult, but I've learned to live with it. I had no idea what it would be like for the rest of my life. I've just tried to get on with it."

Now, Issy is helping her branch of the sea cadets by trying to encourage other people to come forward and volunteer.

The charity is having to turn away children because it does not have enough volunteers to support new recruits.

Stewart Thorpe, from the Loughborough branch, said the group wants to "positively change the lives of more youngsters in the area".

He added Issy has been an inspiration and wanted to share her story "from having her world turned upside down when she woke up partially blind, to being made to feel like anyone else, thanks to volunteers."

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