It was shocking to hear of his death this morning, and serves to show us that things are not always as they seem. An accidental hero, PC Rathband was admired by the nation for the bravery he showed having been shot whilst on duty, leaving him blind. From his hospital bedside he founded the Blue Lamp Foundation to help those in the emergency services and their families cope if they are injured at work. Outwardly, he showed great courage in adapting to his blindness with the support of his wife and children. He ran the London Marathon and deservedly won a Pride Of Britain award.

Sadly however, he later felt that he simply couldn’t cope with his blindness and decided to take his own life less than two years after the shooting. He seemed to think that his blindness made him a burden stating in a BBC interview ‘I hear people’s voices when they are talking to me and I feel the resentment in their voice for having to guide me around.’

Blindness can be extremely hard to take, especially if you have previously had good eyesight. At first you may feel dependant, and frustrated that little tasks that once came easily to you are much more difficult. However with time and advice from the experts, life can begin to seem normal again.

RNIB offer specially made products for blind people helping them not to just ‘get by’ but enjoy their lives. There has recently been pioneering stem cell surgery with success having already been reported from patients such as Katie Piper. PC Rathbone himself had put himself forward for the BrainPort device that translates information from a digital video camera to the tongue, through gentle electrical stimulation.

What we are trying to say for anyone who may lose their vision or knows someone who is blind, please don’t give up hope.