Today I am going to tell you a story.
This story will take you through an emotional journey, a rollercoaster of life events that shape a man into someone who lives for helping others. Moulded into a person who thrives off the idea of making a difference.
The story begins in the Spring of 1969, A boy is born to Edith and Stephen. A boy born into a family that wasn't ready to have children, financially or emotionally stable. During the boy's first four years of life, he would witness tough times, numerous disagreements, and the birth of another child, a brother named Stephen.
Stephen would be born with various disabilities, both physical and mental. The toll of being so young themselves, only 18 years old at the time of the first child's arrival. It would eventually bring an end to this relationship and Edith and Stephen would split.
Let's fast-forward this story to 1980.
The protagonist of this story, let's call him Terence, would be sitting in class aged 11 years, when a teacher would ask if he was feeling ok. The teacher proclaimed Terence was looking a little yellow and was concerned he may be jaundiced. A quick trip the the doctor's surgery, a blood test or two later, it would be discovered I had a rare blood disease. Aplastic Anaemia is a rare and dangerous blood condition; even to date, there are only 100-150 cases per year. Terence spent 2 years in hospitals and had many more regular visits for the next 15 years.
The combination of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant would save my life. This story may sound positive, but allow me to continue. The treatment for my condition not only saved my life but took it away. The toll on my body would be huge, the tone of my skin darkened, my hair grew back curly and my weight increased dramatically. A drug called cyclosporine would ensure that the weight increase would slowly continue for nearly 15 years.
Now I do have to take some responsibility for this, I could have done something to try and stem this weight gain, however I did not. I felt sorry for myself with a victim mentality. This would be my biggest mistake in life and eventually lead to the biggest battle of my life.
Let's fast forward again.
Terence would grow up quickly, he would go through several relationships himself and at age 18 would become a father himself. Dean was born a medical marvel. I should never have been able to produce a child, it had been explained it was nearly impossible! Dean was also born to parents too young; however, I was not going to make the same mistake as my own parents! This is where history cruelly repeated itself.
When Dean was aged 4 years, I came home from work to find my partner sleeping with another man. That would be the end of that. Dean was now a son from a broken relationship, just as I was. This had a damaging effect on my mental health. I would spend many years fighting to see my son. His mother was a vicious, controlling woman who appeared to have all the answers. She was happy to receive my money, but not happy to share our child. After a long fight, I concluded that this was damaging my mental state too much and gave up! With one last message to Dean explaining the situation and reassuring him that when he was old enough, my door would always be open, that is still true to this day.
Many years have gone by, many more failed relationships, many jobs and many knocks, including redundancy and homelessness, have moulded me into a resolute, determined man with a never-give-up attitude.
A huge leap to just ten years ago.
I would meet my current partner, a very popular, caring woman. Someone who would not try and control me. Someone who wanted the same as me, she wanted to live life and experience all it had to offer. I thought all my birthdays and Christmases had come at once; my life had finally taken a turn for the better.
2018 BANG! A diagnosis of Systolic Dysfunction of the left-sided Ventricular, Heart Failure, quickly joined by Kidney Disease - Stage 3 and Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Another cruel twist to my already exhausting life. LVSD is another serious condition where the heart's left ventricle is unable to contract effectively and, therefore, unable to pump blood effectively, leading to possible organ damage and even the risk of sudden death. This will be difficult for friends and family to read, but at this stage, I spent the next five years waiting to die. Yes, I was 100% feeling sorry for myself. Has my life not been traumatic enough for any one person to endure? Ok, let's turn this story on its head. Around a year ago, I came across a drug called Mounjaro and with it a community of like-minded people all battling a lifetime of obesity and its health-related issues.This was huge to me and was the beginning of my comeback.
At the same time, I met Brian Sandham. Brian runs a business called R66 which hosts a monthly line dancing party. I attended one such party, asking if he would mind if I took a few pictures of the artist singing at his event, bragging that I was an amateur photographer wanting a little practice. Of course, he said it would be fine and off I went, proud as punch.
A little later, I found out that man was not just a professional photographer but a tutor and mentor to many. I felt like a proper numpty! Since that day, Brian and I have become good friends; he introduced me to Steve King, another fantastic photographer and friend.
Since I met Brian, I have attended many of his workshops and classes and I have found a love of portrait photography, that love has got me off my backside and out of my home. My mental health has improved tenfold. My life has been saved again; of course, I still suffer from the same condition; however, I no longer sit wasting away waiting to die, I get out and thrive on taking pictures of people.
Of course, my family and friends, my weight loss, have all played their part in my rejuvenation, but it's photography that has made the biggest difference to my life and for that I owe the biggest thank you to Brian and Steve.
So where am I now?
I created a Facebook page, Visions By Design, to show off all my portrait work and took a lot of pleasure doing just that. I then decided that photography has helped me so much, I wanted to use it to help others. Steve King has also had his own struggles with illness and mental health. Together we decided Visions By Design would become something bigger and we now run a group dedicated to not just photography, but to people with mental health issues or disabilities that may want to step into photography, modelling, make-up, and fashion any form of creativity. We believe wholeheartedly that creativity goes a long way to suppressing the effect of poor mental health and we are determined to fight to help people who suffer from this debilitating disease.
2025 has been a year of making a difference. Visions By Design works in collaboration with Kindness Counts UK to host a men-only group called Mugs and Mates, a place to pop in, have a brew and a biscuit and chat with other men. It's a safe place for men to talk. We have also worked with a couple of care homes owned by Andrew and Rosemary. We have visited and provided complimentary photoshoots for their residents, creating beautiful images for them and their families. There was also a collaboration with Iconic CIC, a non-profit organisation that unapologetically goes out there and makes a difference to people, no matter the race, genre, or sexuality.
We have help sessions in our studio with ladies who have created their own outfits to mirror their own lives and struggles. These ladies have never done any kind of modelling; however, they shone bright and we look forward to welcoming them again very soon. Steve and I were also fortunate enough to take part in a fashion shoot for children and young people with disabilities.
Bringing the story to its conclusion.
Yes, my life has been a long story of ups and downs; however, I have met some amazing people along the way. I owe my life to my friends, my family and photography. They have moulded me into a powerhouse of determination, positivity and a yearning to do better and to help other people to achieve their hopes and dreams and with the help of Friends, Family, Steve and Lightlove (Brian) I know we can do that.