Blind man sees bride

Watching his bride walk down the aisle toward him at the altar, Andrew Hall savoured every moment. As tears ran down her cheeks the occasion was full of joy. It was particularly poignant for Mr Hall as it was the first time he had been able to see his bride properly.

He was diagnosed with a serious eye disorder as a teenager and was registered as blind when he met Carolyn Rendle in 1998. But the 30-year-old businessman was determined that he would have a visual memory of his bride. So a month before their big day, he started taking a special drug that steadily improved his sight.

But it was only on the day itself that the extent of its success became truly apparent as 25-yearold Miss Rendle cried. Mr Hall said: "I could see her really clearly. She started crying and I passed her a tissue. She said 'You can see me, can't you?' I said, 'Yes'."

The amazing moment was made possible by Mr Hall's doctor, who prescribed the drug Acetazolamide to dry up the excess water in his eyes, enabling him to see.

Even though the effects lasted just a week, his mother Patricia Hall said it was a dream come true. She added: "He was able to see a vision of Carolyn in her gown. It was not as clear as you or I might see, but he said she looked absolutely beautiful and the memory will stay with him."

Mr Hall said: "You can't take them for long. They affect your nerves; give you pins and needles and tics in your muscles. My face was jumping all over the place, but they cleared my eyesight up so I could see this little bit right in the centre."

Mr Hall's degenerative genetic eye disorder, retinitis pigmentosa, also affects his brother and two uncles. He was diagnosed at 16 after struggling to see the blackboard in school and finding it hard to walk down corridors.

In three years he lost 60 per cent of his vision. At 24 he lost another 30 per cent in two weeks and in 1991 he was officially registered blind.

When he met his physiotherapist wife outside a pub eight years ago his vision was six per cent.

Now he can only see through a tiny spot in the middle of each eye and his sight is rated at just half a per cent. Doctors say he might regain some vision by having his eyes drained.

But Mr Hall, who uses a guide dog, has never let his failing eyesight hold him back and has been abseiling and skydiving for charity. After marrying in his home village of Sawston, Cambridgeshire, he had to give up working as an events coordinator for a charity.

But he has now set up an events accessories business with his brother.