Counsellor steps up to support people living with macular disease

One of the Macular Society’s counselling team has taken on a mammoth walking challenge, along with members of her family, in support of people living with macular disease.

Inspired by the number 300 – the number of people diagnosed with macular disease every day – Wendy Lee, her husband Rob and daughter Jess all pledged to walk 300,000 steps in 30 days to raise £300 for the Macular Society

Wendy, who is a former nurse, is one of the charity’s counsellors, providing vital support to those struggling to cope following a diagnosis of macular disease.

She said: “I’ve done lots of different fundraising activities over the years for several different charities, but this is really the first one all three of us have done together. We’ve been doing a lot of walking recently, as before the coronavirus outbreak, Jess had been quite seriously ill with meningitis. She’s been living with us throughout lockdown and we’ve been walking to give her exercise.

“At the same time, I saw a post from the Macular Society on Facebook, which mentioned how 300 people are diagnosed with macular disease every day. Although I’m one of the Society’s counsellors, I’d never thought of it in those terms before – that’s an incredible number of people really. So I suggested to Rob and Jess that we could combine our walks with raising some money for the Society, and they said yes.”

Wendy added: “When we agreed on the amount we wanted to raise, I wasn’t certain we’d be able to do it to be honest. But we’ve easily exceeded that already and are up to £520. Friends and family have really got behind us and been so generous with their donations. We’re extremely grateful for their support.”

Talking about her role as a Macular Society telephone counsellor and motivation to raise funds for the Society, Wendy said: “I love what I do; it’s really satisfying helping someone with sight loss to work through their problems, and see them regain confidence and come out the other side, and it’s great to think that the money we’re raising will make a huge difference too.”

If you would like to sponsor Wendy, Rob and Jess, please visit their JustGiving page.

If you would like to fundraise for the Macular Society, or for more information about fundraising activities, please call 01264 560 222, email community@macularsociety.org, or visit www.macularsociety.org/fundraising