Being told at 13 years old that you have untreatable degenerative vision loss could be the kind of experience that dictates your entire future. But when Cathy Low was diagnosed with Stargardt disease – the most common childhood-onset macular dystrophy – a combination of youthful resilience, practical parenting and Cathy’s own indomitable spirit meant that the challenge never had the chance to become a catastrophe. 

“When I was told about it, my main concern was that I would go blind, but my parents’ concerns were really about whether I would be able to work. So there was something of a different set of concerns, really,” Cathy laughs.

“But I think that my parents’ attitude was brilliant. There was an expectation that I was going to carry on and achieve and succeed in all the things I was going to do.”