Abbie's story

I was first diagnosed with Pan Uveitis (idiopathic) - an inflammatory eye disease that produces swelling and destroys eye tissue leading to visual impairment with no identified cause - when I was 15 years old. It began with eye redness and pain. At first we just thought I have conjunctivitis and started taking eye drops for that. However, the pain became more severe and I was urged to go to the hospital to be checked out.

Following the diagnosis, more tests were undertaken in order to locate the cause of the disease. I have been tested for every known cause, however all test results have come back clear. Due to this, the only assistance that could be provided was to try different ways of treating the symptoms in the hope that one form of treatment would be successful.

In the past 6 years I have tried different steroid treatments, which all have their own risks and side effects. This included oral steroids, which I could never sleep on, and I also suffered tremors as well as other side effects. I also trialled injections into the eye, which were not effective. This was then followed by surgery, which involved an implant being inserted into my eye. This surgery was effective in treating the inflammation for three months, and therefore I have had to endure this surgery every three months in an attempt to save my vision in my eye and reduce the inflammation and pain.

A result of having so many of these surgeries is that it scars my vision and therefore my vision reduces each time. There are other side effects and risks of more eye issues such as cataracts, which I also had. Here I had to make the decision whether to keep the cataract until it worsened my vision more, or remove it and never be able to focus out of that eye and find teenage girl things like makeup hard to do. I had this removed. Such removal tends to improve vision in older eyes but reduce it in younger eyes.

Six years on and the eye disease seems to be coming back quicker and more severe every time. Although I have managed to find something that treats my symptoms for a short period, there is not yet a treatment that will cure my condition.

They have worked with the University of Bristol, who are at the forefront of uveitis research globally and have had significant breakthroughs in other cases involving uveitis, for 20 years.

This could potentially help so many people. Each advancement in research, however small it may seem to start with, is worth it - it all adds up, so it's worth it!