Charlie Hughes is going blind, and fundraising for Vision Australia

When cricket and footy fan Charlie Hughes applied for a job at the Kilcoy meatworks, he never imagined it would lead to the worst discovery of his life.

Charlie Hughes is walking from Nanango to Coorparoo to raise awareness for the blind in his community

When Charlie Hughes applied for a job at his local meatworks, he never imagined that it would lead to the worst news of his life.

Mr Hughes, 32, lived in Caboolture for 25 years before moving to Nanango to be closer to his family after his sister was diagnosed with cancer.

Thankfully, his sister recovered and Mr Hughes stayed in the South Burnett. He worked at Dominos in Kingaroy and then a sawmill until 2019.

In 2020 he applied for a job at the Kilcoy meatworks but failed the eye test. He then went to Specsavers who referred him to a specialist in Brisbane.

After some eye scans, the doctor sat down with him.

Charlie Hughes is walking from Nanango to Coorparoo to raise awareness for the blind in his community.

“He said, ‘mate I’ve got some sad news, you’re legally blind and you can’t hold a licence’.

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“He asked for my licence … and he chopped it up in front of me. My whole life changed in one whole day and from that day onwards I lost everything. I lost driving, I lost working, I lost playing sports.”

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Mr Hughes was an avid cricket player and a massive fan of the Brisbane Broncos for as long as he can remember but now struggles to watch the matches on TV and can no longer see the scores.

He was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare genetic eye disease. Blindness does run in Hughes’ family with his grandfather losing his vision at the age of 15.

After receiving the news, Mr Hughes said he went into a deep depression.

“I shut off everyone for six months. I stayed in my bedroom, I didn’t talk to anyone. I would come out of my room to get food and I put on kilos

“Mum and Dad are still not coping well from it, especially Dad.

Charlie Hughes is walking from Nanango to Coorparoo to raise awareness for the blind in his community.

“It’s a day by day process. I could wake up tomorrow and be fully blind, I don’t know when it will fully go,” he said.

Mr Hughes has had other complications from his disease. Earlier this year he started getting a sharp pain behind his eyes which he described as “worse than a migraine”.

Further scans revealed he had developed a blood clot in his right eye and had to have injections every month to get rid of it.

“This year so far I’ve had 15 needles in my right eye. It’s the worst, they don’t numb it … It is dreadful what blindness can do to people,” he said.

From the time he was diagnosed, his vision has become significantly worse.

“I can only see 6ms in front. It’s hard to see writing.

“There are good days when I don’t get any pain and can see some things and there are bad days where I can’t see anything at all.”

Mr Hughes now sees a private disability service and thanks his support workers Tim Walsh and James Maxwell, along with family and friends who helped get him out of his depression.

He also started going to Snap Fitness in Kingaroy and training with Kayla Catterall who he credits for helping change his mindset.

“I haven’t looked back since then, I’ve been getting out and getting fit.”

During a trip to the Gold Coast with his support worker, he was inspired by one of the other clients who had completed a walk for epilepsy and decided to do one himself for blind people.

From November 11, 2023 to November 18, 2023 Mr Hughes and his support workers and will walk from Nanango to the Vision Australia office in Coorparoo, covering 230km.

The walk will raise money for Vision Australia and awareness for the lack of specialised doctors in the region.

“In the South Burnett area there’s no doctors for blindness, so I’m trying to get that up here for the blind people.”

Mr Hughes’ training has been going well and he has been covering similar distances to what he will be walking next month.

He has had great support from the local community. The Athlete's Foot in Kingaroy donated a pair of shoes, and locals have helped with backpacks, walking poles and event shirts for the walk.

“I want to thank the South Burnett area and my family,” he said.

“If it goes well then I’ll probably do it every year and hopefully get more blind people out.”

Mr Hughes is also encouraging others to go and walk with him during any of the days.

To support Mr Hughes and his cause you can donate here.