Ryan Searle opens up on incurable eye condition ahead of semi-final World Darts Championship tie against Luke Littler.
Ryan Searle is used to overcoming the odds.
Having reached the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship without dropping a set, the 38-year-old booked his place in the last four by beating world number five Jonny Clayton on New Year's Day.
His reward? A last-four contest with defending champion Luke Littler.
But if Searle is the underdog against the teenage prodigy, then he at least has a history of triumphing over adversity.
Searle lives with a rare eyesight condition called Autosomal Dominant Optic Atrophy - which affects vision by causing the optic nerve to become progressively thinner.
On particularly bad days, Searle is unable to see where his darts land but he hopes his tale can serve as an inspiration to other sufferers.
"It was only in the last 18 months that I realised what the diagnosis was," said Searle.
"It's been bad for as long as I can remember.
"There's no cure for what I've got so I'm stuck with it. I wear contact lenses now to try and take a bit of the blurriness away from my vision.
"But sometimes on stage I'm asking the caller what I've scored and it puts me in a bit of a difficult position.
"If I can inspire people that maybe can't see as well to pick up the game, then it means a lot to me."
Last week, Littler revealed he had surgery as a child to correct his eyesight.
The 18-year-old was treated at Warrington Hospital to repair strabismus - a condition where the eyes do not align.
Searle has raised more than £10,000 for the Cure ADOA Foundation and has asked some of his opponents in the tournament so far to donate shirts to raffle off to raise more money.
He hopes that a cure can be found so that his daughter, who is registered as visually impaired, can drive a car when she's older.
"It's a hereditary condition, so I've passed it to both of my children," he said.
"My son doesn't have it as bad as as me, but my daughter has it really bad.
"When it gets to about six feet, she can see, but after that her vision gets really bad.
"So, if I can raise a lot of awareness for that and try and find a cure for it, that means a lot to me."
Semi-final draw
Luke Littler v Ryan Searle
Gian van Veen v Gary Anderson
Semi-final matches are best of 11 sets and will be played on 2 January from 19:30 GMT.
Category: General Sports
