Two young brothers from Cardiff pedalled their way to an incredible fundraising achievement in support of their Cwmbran grandmother.
Bryn, 12, and Ioan, 10, took on the challenge as part of their Cardiff Scout group, originally planning to ride 40km. But the determined duo pushed even further, smashing both their distance and fundraising targets.
The pair cycled 44km while raising more than £1,000 for the Macular Society.
The boys chose to support the Macular Society, a national charity that helps people affected by macular disease, the leading cause of sight loss in the UK.
Their fundraising was inspired by their grandmother, Sallie Slade from Cwmbran, who has been diagnosed with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an untreatable condition that gradually affects central vision and detail.
Advice and support
The charity has provided Sallie with advice and support since her diagnosis, and Bryn and Ioan wanted to give something back.
Their efforts have been praised by family, friends, and fellow Scouts, with the funds raised going directly towards helping others living with sight loss.
Ioan said: “We didn’t think that many people would donate and we even had donations from strangers, so it means a lot to us.
“Grandma can’t read to us anymore, so I always enjoy reading books that I loved as a child on Christmas Eve to her, that’s our tradition.”
Bryn, whose idea it was to raise money for the Macular Society, said: “The cycling was fun and challenging. I was thinking about how to raise money, and Ioan liked the idea of us collecting money together, so in the end we decided it should be the Society – it seemed a great choice.
‘She does a lot for charity’
“Our grandma is really nice and kind. She does a lot for charity, so we did something for her this time.”
Mum Sarah Slade, from Cardiff, expressed great pride in her children’s desire to fundraise for a cause close to their hearts.
She said: “Bryn asked ‘is there a charity that supports grandma?’ and being able to raise money for a charity that was linked to their Grandma helped Ioan to get over his worries about cycling so far. Macular disease is affecting other members of the family too, so when we put the link out there to family, they were really keen to support.
“Neither of the boys had cycled that far before, just local rides here and there, but they absolutely smashed it. They had planned to do 40km, but actually they went just that little bit further. I am really proud of them and what they’ve achieved.
“We walloped through the initial £500 target really quickly and the boys were so excited. We increased the target to £750 and then we received just over £1,200 in the end so the boys were so pleased – thank you to everyone who could donate.”
Dry AMD
Her mother-in-law Sallie, 76, was told she had the start of dry AMD around 25 years ago. It progressed slowly but during the first Covid lockdown, her sight began to deteriorate quickly.
Sarah said: “She hasn’t been able to read a book or a magazine since before Covid, and that really made it hit home for me how bad it’s been.
“She has tapped into any resource she can, like screen readers, and audiobooks, but she used to sit and read to the boys. Now when they’re together, they are the ones reading to her. She struggles now with facial recognition and it’s hard for her.”
Sallie, who was joint president of the Soroptimist International Society Cwmbran & District until this year and is still very active with the group, found reassurance and support from the Macular Society.
Sarah said: “She was able to speak to people at the Macular Society about adaptations to make to help her use her computer so she could still do the Soroptimist newsletters, for advice on how she could use Microsoft accessibility tools and get her computer to speak to her and make everything large print.
“Knowing the Macular Society is there, I think that has helped her know that she’s not alone with this, it’s offered her ways of dealing with it. She’s been made aware of how she can adapt, learn how others live with it and take steps to help mitigate the impact. Knowing that the condition is hereditary and how it affected her father and now her and two of her brothers, she is very keen to see research that will help find treatments that will assist people who develop the condition in the future.
“Sallie is a very pragmatic and practical person and she has accepted the changes really well, but there have been struggles. Macular disease hasn’t just taken Sallie’s sight, it’s taken her independence so I think about its wider impact on people, and I hope research can help to find something to prevent that.”
Nearly 1.5 million people are currently affected by macular disease and many more are at risk, with around 300 new diagnoses every day.
The disease can have a devastating effect on people’s lives, leaving them unable to drive, read or see faces. Many people affected describe losing their sight as being similar to bereavement. There is still no cure and most types of the disease are not treatable. AMD is the most common form of macular disease, affecting more than 700,000 people, usually over the age of 50.
More information about macular disease
For more information on macular disease and to get support, call the Macular Society Helpline on 0300 3030 111, email [email protected] or visit the website: www.macularsociety.org.