The family of a Teddington teenager has made a plea for help in raising £15,000 to fund urgent and specialist eye treatment that may stop her from going blind.

Katie Emmett, 13, was born with a detached retina in her left eye, which means she has always been blind on that side. Until recently she had some sight in her right eye, but that is now under threat from glaucoma.

Her mum, Hilary Emmett, told Teddington Nub News: "The last couple of months have been unbelievably tough. Katie has missed all the activities she usually enjoys in the run-up to Christmas and has had hospital appointments when she should have been on school pantomime trips, making Christmas cards, and decorating the tree. 

"She's asked us to take photograpsh of everything we've done together over the past 10 weeks so that after the operation she can look at the photos and remember what we were doing at the time. My heart breaks every time she says it as I wonder if she will ever be able to see again. 

"Katie has been through so much with so many operations and medical procedures already in her 13 years. She has always amazed us with her stoicism, bravery and positivity. 

"We hope and pray that all these wonderful donations and messages of support from friends, neighbours, acquaintances and strangers will not be in vain, and we send a huge thank-you to anyone who has helped or would consider donating. We are so incredibly grateful."

Bravely, Katie tells her own story, saying: "Hi, I'm Katie, I'm 13 years old and, unless I have specialist eye surgery immediately, I will spend the rest of my life completely blind.

"I was born with a detached retina in my left eye, which means that I've always been blind on that side and wear a plastic shell painted to look like a real eye. Until recently, I have always had some sight in my right eye, but I suffer from glaucoma, which is a condition that causes vision impairment and, if untreated, complete blindness.

"For most of my life, mum and dad had been able to control the pressure with eye drops and laser treatment, but last year the eye drops and laser treatment stopped working. The only option was for me to have surgery to expand the drainage channels in my eye, which took place in October.

"As far as the glaucoma was concerned, the operation was a success but there was so much trauma to the eye that blood clots formed right in front of my iris, totally blocking my vision. Sadly, the blood has not dispersed and I have now been without any sight since October half term 2022.

"A few days before Christmas, we learned that I also have tears in my retina, which, unless operated upon, will lead to complete retinal detachment meaning I will be blind in both eyes for the rest of my life. To prevent this, I need more surgery to remove the gel at the back of my eye. This procedure is called a vitrectomy and is very complex in children like me, particularly as I have an extremely cloudy cornea that makes it difficult for doctors to see the back of my eye.

"Because of these complications, I need an endoscopic vitrectomy and, as there are only three doctors in the UK who can perform this type of surgery on children, you can imagine how long the NHS waiting lists are!

"All the children waiting have a critical need, just like me, so mum and dad have no choice but to pay for it to be done privately at Great Ormond Street Hospital as soon as a bed becomes available; the longer I wait for the operation, the greater the chance will be of my retina detaching. I have a number of other medical conditions that make this operation even more difficult so GOSH is the best place for me to be with its High Dependency Unit in case anything goes wrong.

"The last nine weeks have been filled with darkness instead of the light and joy that I look forward to so much at Christmas. There was none of the arts and crafts, baking and dancing that I love and I couldn't make Christmas cards for my friends and family like I usually do. I helped mum and dad decorate the tree but Christmas just wasn't the same this year.

"Without this surgery, I won't see Christmas ever again. I will have to learn to navigate the world without sight and my life will be changed forever.

Katie with mum, Hilary.

"However, my doctor is optimistic that the operation will allow me to see at least as well as I could before my eyesight deteriorated last year. In 2021, I had a cataract removed and for almost a year, I had the best eyesight I'd ever had and could even see some things close up without wearing glasses!

"I have had many operations in my life so far, not just for my eyes, and I've always battled through them and bounced back quickly. This one is the biggest and most vital one yet.

"Please help my mum and dad cover the cost of this life-changing operation and give me back my sight."

£15,000 will pay for the cost of the surgery, the initial consultation with the retina specialist, the orthoptist, the ultrasound scans and the private prescriptions. The costs are broken down as:

•  The operation £13,600.
• Consultation with a private orthoptist £110
• Initial consultation with the retinal doctor £350
• Prescription for preservative free eye drops £54
• Ultrasound scan - likely to be between £180-£300.

This link is how you can donate to help save Katie's sight : https://gofund.me/d8197672