A blind dad will compete in the Great Scottish Run this weekend with his young son who running alongside him as his trusty guide.
Jay Cruz Semple, 45, from Knightwood in Glasgow,lost his sight a decade ago after he developed a rare genetic condition called Choroideremia – which causes progressive vision loss, mostly in males.
He is now hoping to raise funds for private treatment that may one day let him see his 11-year-old son Tyler-James’ face again.
Tyler-James began running with his dad from the day he could walk and the pair would often take part in Parkruns together, but Jay’s sight quickly began to deteriorate.
By the time he was six-years-old, Tyler-James had become his dad’s running guide and both had joined local group, Knightwood Harriers.
Jay told the Record how he’d would be “stuck” without his caring son, who has become his eyes while out running, but also in helping him get by with daily life.
He said: “I’m very proud of Tyler-James. He has had to cope with a lot from an early age. He helps me with many things, like going shopping, getting to places and crossing the road. Without my wee boy, I’m stuck, to be honest.
“He has been my running guide for Parkruns for a long time now and we often do races together. We work as a team.”
But Jay said that Tyler-James also has his own sporting accomplishments – and the proud dad is desperate to see his wee boy’s face when he celebrates success.
He continued: “I’ve also trained Tyler-James in martial arts because I had previously trained an instructor.
“We travel all over for his competitions and he has been doing really well recently, winning a lot of medals nationally in Scotland.
“I’m very proud of him and I cheer him on from the sides while his coach tells me what’s happening, but all I want is to see his wee face again. It breaks my heart that I can’t see him.”
There is currently no cure for Jay’s sight loss condition, but he is hoping pay for private oxygen therapy after reading positive research results.
Jay explained. “No treatments have worked so far, so I’ve had to do a lot of my own research and a lot of the top research universities are showing some really good things from oxygen therapy.
“It’s my hope I can give this a go and it will at least restore some of my eyesight and that and I can watch my son go off to high school next year.
“I’ve missed seeing him start school and all the major milestones so far, but I’ve never given up hope at seeing my boy’s face again.”
You can donate to Jay and Tyler James’s fundraiser here.
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