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Robin Frape and Julie Binnigton are setting off on an epic walk to raise awareness of RP blindness. Picture by Chris Cornford.

TWO hikers are going to be setting off on the trek of a lifetime on Friday to raise awareness for RP blindness, a degenerative eye condition that affects the retina.

Robin Frape, 48, and Julie Binnington, 50, of St Thomas Street, Ryde, are setting off on a walk that will take them all over the world.

Robin has retinitis pigmentosa (RP) blindness and the couple plan to walk indefinitely until his vision degenerates to a point where he can no longer continue.

"I want to create as many visual memories as I can, while I still have my vision," said Robin, who was forced to retire early from his job as a hydrographic surveyor.

Robin's peripheral vision has diminished and his central vision has been severely damaged. He is legally blind in his right eye and has many distorted spots in his left.

They will start by walking out their front door in Ryde on Friday and will walk around the Isle of Wight, cross over to Lymington, walk the length of the UK, cross over to Northern Ireland, trek down to the South of Ireland then fly over to mainland Europe and keep going.

"We are going to cover as many countries as we can. There is no set end date, we are just going to keep going," Julie said.

The adventure is all in order to raise awareness and support for RP blindness, a condition that many people know very little about.

The condition is almost always passed on genetically and affects different people in different ways, including the severity and rate of degeneration.

They are raising money for RP Fighting Blindness. Anyone can donate at http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/walking-terra-firma and follow their progress on Facebook at Walking Terra Firma for Blindness RP.

View post:
Isle of Wight man facing blindness plans to walk the world to make memories and raise awareness - Isle of Wight County Press

This entry was posted on March 29, 2017 at 8:44 am and is filed under Blindness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |