My daughter Aimee has recently been diagnosed with Keratoconus - an eye condition in which the normally round dome-shaped clear window of the eye (Cornea) progressively thins causing a cone-like bulge to develop. Her eyesight is deteriorating and she suffers very bad headaches & light sensitivity as a result of this.

Due to the lengthy waiting time on the NHS for treatment, I took her to see a consultant in London who has advised that her Keratoconus is now at an advanced stage in her left eye and she needs a treatment called Corneal Cross Linking (CXL) as soon as possible. Although this treatment cannot cure Keratoconus it can stop/freeze the progression of the condition and hopefully strengthen her cornea enough for her to be able to use contact lenses to improve her vision.

The advanced stage in her left eye & progressive nature of the condition means that if she was to wait to get treatment on the NHS it may then have worsened and therefore the CXL treatment would no longer be an option and she would be looking at having to have a Corneal Transplant or faced with losing her vision.

The treatment cost is £4000 and due to our family stretching ourselves to our limits to pay for her University fees at London Studio Centre, there is no way we can afford to pay for the treatment privately. The option of waiting for the NHS route is NOT something we are willing to risk when the window of opportunity to get the CXL treatment done is closing fast. Sadly the cost of this for Aimee will mean that we will no longer be able to afford her University fees on top of the medical bills...

....So I've taken the difficult decision to swallow my pride and ask for help from anyone who knows Aimee or who can help me to get together the money I need to pay for her treatment privately to save her eyesight and to allow her to continue following her dream to be a dancer. Any amount at all you could help with will be appreciated and help so much.

Aimee is a kind-hearted, giving soul who would do anything to help anyone. She loves to dance and loves to teach children and share her passion with them. She has given her all in jobs at Centrestage in Kilmarnock over the years and more recently as a Camp Counselor at Camp Saginaw in Pennsylvania. I am so proud of the adventurer she is and the way she inspires people - and as her mum, I don't want anything to get in her way or stop her from living her life in the positive, outgoing way she always has done. So please help me save her eyesight so she doesn't lose sight of her dreams.

Claire