Hegarty Family

Join team
Team fundraiser3 membersRetina UK
£1,466
raised of £1,200 target
Event: Great Bristol Half Marathon 2024, on 19 May 2024
Team Finlay
Campaign by Retina UK (RCN 1153851)
Supporting Retina UK in memory of Finlay Macleod.

Story

This is a message from Finlay's family:

'At some point in every young retinitis pigmentosa (RP) sufferer’s life the nature of their condition weighs very heavily on them and how they believe it will significantly impact every aspect of their future.

We believe this is what happened to Finlay last year: as he looked forward in his life, all he could see was the negative impact of his condition. He just ran out of hope for what his future with RP could be and this is why, we believe, Finlay took his own life.

Although sight loss would have had a profound impact on Finlay, he would have been able to achieve so much in his life and he would have been a wonderful person to have around. We only wish we could tell him that now.

Fiona, Imi and I never want another young sufferer of RP to ever feel like Finlay did; to lose all hope and to feel that taking their own life is the only solution.

There is a huge volume of negativity around sight loss in our sighted world. We are fundraising specifically to improve the support available to young RP sufferers, to help them grow up to be more optimistic about the impact of their condition and above all, to maintain hope for their future.

If only this had been available, who knows, maybe Finlay would be running the Bristol Half Marathon with Imi as they had planned.

Please help us raise as much money as possible, to help make a difference, to help ensure that no young RP sufferer ever takes their own life again.'

Team members (3)

Join team

Share this story

Help Anneli Hegarty's team

Sharing this page with your friends could help raise up to 3x more in donations

You can also help by sharing this link on

About the campaign

Supporting Retina UK in memory of Finlay Macleod.

About the charity

Retina UK

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1153851
Retina UK is the only UK charity dedicated solely to working for people affected by inherited sight loss. We fund medical research to accelerate the search for treatments for the future, and provide information and support to help people lead better lives today.

Donation summary

Total raised
£1,465.59
+ £308.90 Gift Aid
Online donations
£1,465.59

* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.