Grace’s NF1 story - Nothing stops me
10 January 2022
My name is Grace, I am 18 years old. I was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 when I was 2 years old.
For me it has resulted in a few complications, such as an optic nerve glioma, scoliosis of the spine, café au lait marks and neurofibromas.
I had 18 months of chemotherapy to shrink the tumour behind my left eye, which unfortunately left me blind on that side. I’ve been in and out of hospital a lot over the years, with many MRI scans and appointments, but I’ve never let this stop me from doing anything.
Growing up, I was always active and had a love for swimming and triathlon. Due to my visual impairment, I was able to compete in the para category in my local triathlon club events and swimming galas.

My biggest accomplishment within sport was when I competed in the British Blind Sport National swimming championships in Birmingham, collecting a series of gold and silver medals over the years.

I am currently in my first year at university studying Health and Social which I hope will lead me into a career in which I can care for people, as I know personally how important the health and social care sector is and what a difference it can make.
Filter News

“Framing the face: History, Emotion, Transplantation” a blog from James Partridge
Find out more about the blog and what is concerns here:
Read More
A Spooktacular Halloween day for NTUK
Find out more about the wonderful fundraising event here:
Read More
Nicks Triathlon in Support of his daughter Eilidh
Find out more about Nick's Triathlon and his daughter's experiences with NF1 here:
Read More
Tom GK- Hearing Loss: The Musical
Find out more about the musical and how you can secure your ticket here
Read More
Nerve Tumours UK joins the “Embracing Complexity” Coalition
Find out more about the coalition we have decided to join
Read More
Researching NF1
Rory Deasy has conducted research into the treatment of children with NF1. Here he talks about his research journey.
Read More
Megan’s Journey
Megan talks about her experiences of being a student with NF and what she took away from the NF conference in San Fransico
Read More
Aldo goes to Primary School
Find out more about the book aimed at helping people understand the life of an autistic boy going through primary school here
Read More