Join Fox News for access to this content
Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.
By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’
Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy, which includes our
Notice of Financial Incentive.
Please enter a valid email address.
A teenager is hoping to travel around as much of the world as she can before she completely loses her eyesight.
Tilly Hayward, 17, has been diagnosed with a rare genetic eye disease and eventually will go blind, news agency SWNS reported.
Stargardt disease is an inherited genetic condition. Affecting one in 10,000 people, it occurs when fatty material builds up on the macula, the part of the retina needed for central vision.
TRAVELERS FLOCK TO TOP RELIGIOUS LANDMARKS DEEMED ‘MOST INSTAGRAMMABLE’
Most people with the condition retain their peripheral vision, so they won’t lose their sight completely. Yet last November, Hayward, of Peterborough, England, learned that her peripheral vision was deteriorating and that she would go blind.
“The news has put into perspective that life is short,” she said.
Teenager Tilly Hayward is shown with her mom, Nicola Reynolds. The teen wants to see as much of the world as she can before she loses her eyesight. (SWNS)
Hayward said she doesn’t know how much time she has before she loses her vision, and she has launched a fundraiser to help her see the world.
On her wish list: Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, plus the beaches of Dubai.
Said Hayward, “Being told to prepare for the worst and go blind has given me the motivation to see as much of the world as I possibly can. From the age of 4 or 5, I’ve been obsessed with beaches and planes.”
She always wanted to be a flight attendant, she said.
The teen doesn’t know how much time she has before she loses her vision.
Hayward was born with Stargardt disease, and both her parents carry the gene, SWNS reported.
The teenager said that people noticed there was an issue with her sight from age 4, but opticians recommended glasses.
FLIGHT PASSENGERS DEBATE TIME NEEDED TO CATCH CONNECTING FLIGHTS
“When I was 7,” she said, “I began bumping into things and sitting insanely close to the TV, but I could still read a normal font-size book.”
She said she still remembers being told by a teaching assistant in math class to “plot coordinates on a graph. [But] I didn’t know the piece of paper in front of me had lines on it.”
On the wish list for teenager Tilly Hayward (not pictured) is Dubai. “I think it’s such a cool place with the beach and the city all in one,” she said. (iStock)
She said her mother took her back to the eye doctor. That’s when the family was told their child had “behavioral problems,” SWNS reported.
They were eventually referred to two different hospitals.
HOTTEST US DESTINATIONS FOR TRAVEL IN 2025, ACCORDING TO TRIPADVISOR
Hayward said she endured many tests “for the doctors to understand what was going on. I was diagnosed with Stargardt disease when I was 9. I have no central vision and my peripheral vision is like a spiderweb.”
She said she has “some vision” but that it’s not “clear or normal.”
“If I can’t see the people or waves on the beach, I’ll listen to it.”
Stargardt disease typically affects only the central vision, but scans taken in November 2024 showed it had spread into her peripheral vision, too, Hayward said.
She has learned to read Braille, SWNS reported, is studying for exams and has accepted that she will lose her sight.
Hayward, shown here, wants to see as much of the world as she can before she goes blind. “I’ve realized you can still achieve amazing things,” she said. (SWNS)
Hayward said, “Until I was 15, I would never admit I was registered [as a] blind [person]. I was so embarrassed. Now I’ve grown up and connected with other people with similar conditions. I’ve realized you can still achieve amazing things.”
She credited her mother as always being her “biggest champion.”
TRENDY TRAVEL DESTINATIONS FOR YOU TO CHECK OUT IN 2025: REPORT
“We went to Spain last year, and it was just amazing. I felt so happy there, but equally it was really difficult. I remember going on [vacation] a lot when I was younger, and I could see so much more.”
“Just hearing the music would be incredible.”
Hayward said she’s now “making the most of what I can do. If I can’t see the people or waves on the beach, I’ll listen to it.”
She revealed that she has experienced “really horrible depression” over her situation and battled anorexia for five years.
But today, “I’ve realized I don’t need to control or hide how I feel.”
The teenager said she’s “a huge Disney fan” and has always wanted to see Cinderella Castle at Disney World. (2024 Wealth of Geeks)
She’s launched a GoFundMe page to help her travel the world, and as of early this week, she’s already raised £1,490 (nearly $1,850 in U.S. dollars) of her target of £2k (nearly $2,500).
She added, “My biggest dream since I was a little girl is to go to Florida” and that she’s “a huge Disney fan” who has always wanted to see Cinderella Castle.
“I’ve accepted that won’t be the case, but even just hearing the music would be incredible.”
She also said, “I’d also like to go to Dubai. I think it’s such a cool place with the beach and the city all in one.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
The teen wrote on her fundraiser page, “I would love to be able to see the sand beneath my feet for the last time, the palm trees swaying in the wind, the crystal-clear oceans and the smile on my family’s faces as we watch the sunsets on an evening set along the beachfront.”
Hayward said that if anyone receives a diagnosis or is experiencing sight loss, “It may feel like the end of the world and there’s no future or no hope. It does take time, but I’ve grown to realize a disability shouldn’t disable you,” she said.
“My biggest dream since I was a little girl is to go to Florida,” said Hayward, pictured above in sunglasses. (SWNS)
She continued, “You can learn to live with it and adapt. If I hadn’t gone through sight loss, I wouldn’t be the person I am now.”
A supporter of hers wrote on Facebook, “God bless you, don’t give up hope.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Hayward family for comment.
For more Lifestyle articles, visit foxnews.com/lifestyle.
The National Eye Institute noted that with Stargardt disease, “[V]ision loss usually starts in childhood — but some people with Stargardt disease don’t start to lose their vision until they’re adults.”
There is no treatment for the rare genetic disease, according to the same source, “but vision rehabilitation can help people make the most of their remaining vision.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Cleveland Clinic reports that Stargardt disease has other names, including Stargardt macular degeneration, fundus flavimaculatus and ABCA4 retinopathy, which refers to the genetic mutation of the disease. The gene influences the way the body uses vitamin A.
