Ali’s amazing £10,000 donation
29th April, 2025
Regular Moorfields patient Ali made the generous gift to help other patients have a good experience.
Ali was born with congenital cataracts, and had her first eye surgery at six weeks old. After being looked after in her local NHS hospital for many years, in her early twenties she was referred to Moorfields because of the complexity of her eye conditions, including glaucoma, which involves a build-up of pressure in the eye.
After a few years of close monitoring, Ali’s eye pressure reached emergency levels, and she had laser surgery at Moorfields St George’s, which brought everything back under control for a while, but since then she’s continued to have trouble with her eyes, needing multiple surgeries to insert and maintain a shunt.
As well as her eye conditions, Ali has been dealing with other health issues that restrict her day-to-day activities, and so looking after her sight is even more important for her quality of life.
“Since 2016 we’ve battled to save the sight in my left eye,” says Ali. “I have very little sight in that eye but I have enough, and without that sight, working with what sight I have in my other eye, I wouldn’t have been able to do the physio that has been helping me regain some of my mobility.
“The most recent operation was a really tricky one, but somehow they did it, and at the moment things are looking good. They never gave up on me. Even though some people might think the sight in that eye isn’t viable, to me it is viable and I do use it in day-to-day life. My consultant, Nick Strouthidis, always says, okay, if you say you need it, we’ll try.”
Ali now comes to Moorfields weekly for check-ups with the contact lens team, and every few weeks with Professor Strouthidis and his team. “I go up there every week and everyone says hello to me, they always cheer me up,” she says. “All the volunteers know me by my name – there’s no way I could go undercover in that hospital!”
After her grandmother recently passed away, Ali discovered that there was £10,000 earmarked for charitable gifts in her will, for Ali to distribute. Ali knew straight away that she wanted to use the money to support Moorfields.
“This donation could help other patients who are really scared of visiting the hospital,” says Ali. “The volunteers are always so helpful, and Moorfields make such good use of their volunteer service. There’s always someone to welcome you when you arrive, and they’re always so friendly. The staff and volunteers see me as a human being, and that’s what, to me, is so special about Moorfields. There was nowhere else I even thought of donating the money.”
The care Ali has received at Moorfields has helped ensure she has enough vision to enjoy the things she loves. While her other health issues have prevented her from riding, she loves spending time with her horse, Splash.
“As poorly as I am, I still deal with a 500-pound animal, and without my sight, I wouldn’t be able to do any of it,” she says. “I can’t do a lot at the moment, but to be able to have a horse back in my life is amazing. I don’t know what the future will be, but at least I have Moorfields. At least I’m not on my own with this.”