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21-Year-Old Dad Dreams Of Seeing His Wedding And Daughter's Birth Before Going Blind

21-Year-Old Dad Dreams Of Seeing His Wedding And Daughter's Birth Before Going Blind

Charlie Macaulay hopes to see his daughter born and his wife walk down the aisle

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A dad from Hull is in a race against time to see the birth of his daughter, as well as his wife walking down the aisle in her wedding dress, before he goes completely blind.

Charlie Macaulay, 21, was diagnosed with diabetes when he was three years old, but suffered from complications with the illness back in December that caused him to develop diabetic retinopathy, which causes rapid deterioration of his eyesight.

Since December, he's gone blind in his right eye and only has limited vision in his left. That means he's in a battle to retain his sight until two massive life events take place.

He's set to marry fiancée Billie Smith in May. Billie is pregnant with the couple's second child, who is due in July.

He said: "I'd marry her tomorrow if I could.

"I just want to see her in her dress and I want to see my wedding and my little girl before my eyes go."

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Father-of-one Charlie has been diabetic for 18 years of his life, but only started having complications when he entered secondary school."

Last year, he went to the doctor, where he was told his sight was going to decline. He has had six operations in a matter of weeks, but still only has partial sight out of one eye.

He admitted: "Now I'm struggling to see and it's really tough.

"I can't see my phone screen or cars when I'm crossing the road. I've fallen over a few times because I can't see kerbs.

"I can't really go out on my own now, I've got to have someone with me."

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He said: "I just don't want to lose my independence, it's had a massive effect over the past couple of months.

"I struggle with my mental health anyway and it's hard to take in."

Charlie also hopes to raise awareness of the potential implications and complications of diabetes in younger people, as well as advocating for mental health.

He added: "I struggle to speak to people at the best of times but I want to start taking to spread awareness.

"A lot of people think, 'Oh you can't have sugar,' but it isn't that."

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Through it all, Charlie cites his fiancée Billie and his son Freddie-James as a source of constant comfort to him. Planning for a wedding provides a good distraction from his other struggles.

He said: "My family are brilliant, they're always there for me if I need to talk."

Furthermore, his mum Sarah is running the London Marathon in April for Diabetes UK, she's got a donations page that you can find here.

The wedding is set for 9 May, but the couple are hoping to bring it forward.

Featured Image Credit: MEN Media

Topics: UK News, Health