Vicky Howarth: Championing Sport and Empowering Others

Introducing Vicky

Meet Vicky Howarth! Vicky is one of our dedicated Patient Support Officers, supporting people at both Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and Altrincham Hospital. Not only that, she’s hugely passionate about sport. She’s competed in not one, not two, not three, but six different sports. How extraordinary is that?

Vicky has a visual impairment. She has the eye condition Stargardt’s Disease. She received her diagnosis aged 17.

Vicky’s visual impairment

Vicky’s eye condition is Stargardt’s disease, a condition that causes the eye to slowly disconnect from the brain. This causes vision loss, and eventually leads to blindness.

As a teenager, Vicky was a brilliant table tennis player. However, her coach noticed delays in her playing, so recommended she visit an opticians. A year later, after numerous eye tests and blood tests, she received a diagnosis of Stargardt’s Disease.

Since her diagnosis, she has taken up numerous opportunities to play lots of different sports at a high level, opportunities she may not have had if she were sighted.

Vicky’s love of sport

Vicky is hugely passionate about sport, and has competed in six sports: table tennis, goalball, cheerleading, equestrian (able-bodied showing, and able-bodied and disability dressage), and judo.

Table tennis

Table tennis was the first sport that Vicky played, describing it as her main sport. It was while playing this sport she realised she was losing her eyesight.

This did not stop her enjoying it: days after her diagnosis, she travelled to the Isle Of Man for a table tennis camp. She then competed in para table tennis following her diagnosis.

Goalball

Vicky then took up goalball. In around 2010, The head coach at the time for team GB goalball talent spotted her when she attended a Paralympic Day in Manchester. Her first match was an international match against Sweden. She retired from goalball just before the London Paralympics in 2012.

Many visually impaired people play goalball, a sport designed for them. Anybody can play goalball, however players must wear eye shades while playing, to ensure a level playing field. If playing at international level, players must have a visual impairment, classified as B1, B2 or B3. These classifications are used in sport, and the less vision you have, the lower your classification number.

Cheerleading

Cheerleading has always been a part of Vicky’s life, and she has competed in able-bodied cheerleading, meaning participating alongside sighted people. She has competed at both national and European level, and on top of that she coaches cheerleading. Cheerleading, especially coaching, is still a part of Vicky’s life today.

Equestrian

Vicky’s always loved equestrian, and she has competed for great Britain many times. She has competed in two disciplines: able-bodied showing, and dressage, both able-bodied and disability. She was preparing to compete in dressage at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, however the criteria changed meaning that only totally blind people (classified as B1) could compete. Vicky’s classification is B2, and this meant missing out on her chance to compete in Paralympic dressage.

She still takes part in equestrian today, competing in events at national level when she can.

Judo

Vicky’s ultimate goal has always been to compete in a Paralympic games, so she decided to take up Judo. She wanted to give Judo a go because like the other sports she has competed in, Judo involves a lot of core strength and power.

As soon as she started, she went onto the national team, and participated in a European final, winning a silver medal. Well done Vicky!

She was all set to compete in Judo at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, however she wasn’t able to due to ill-health. Due to medication she now takes, she is currently unable to compete, but she’s hoping to return to playing Judo in the near future.

Vicky’s future goals

Vicky is determined to compete in a Paralympic games. Vicky feels she can’t fully retire from sport until after fulfilling that ambition.

Even if she doesn’t win a medal, she just wants to be able to have memories of participating. She’s gotten so close, and even has four Paralympic kits that she’s never worn.

I’ve never let my eyesight stop me because I’ve always had sport to keep me going. Being a visually impaired person has been very positive to me, I am so proud to be able to show other visually impaired people that you can still lead a very full life without eyesight.

Other professional ventures

When not competing full-time in sport, Vicky has had a varied professional career. She worked  as a cheerleading coach, and then in events management.

She began working in the disability sector around 20 years ago, starting off in disability employability support.

Vicky is also a domestic abuse survivor, and as a result advocating for other domestic abuse survivors is a big part of her life. A few years ago, she was one of six women chosen to be the face of Manchester for International Women’s Day, and she is BBC Radio Manchester’s spokesperson for issues around domestic abuse.

Vicky and Henshaws

Manchester City Council connected Vicky with Henshaws back in the 1990s when she realised she had sight loss. At that time, she had a phone call with Henshaws who referred her to the sensory team who provided her with a symbol cane.

Since January 2024, Vicky has worked for us as a Patient Support Officer (formally an Eye Clinic Liaison Officer or ECLO). She supports patients at both Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and Altrincham Hospital, to help them come to terms with their diagnosis. She makes relevant referrals so they can get the support they need.

I enjoy working with a range of people, providing support in situations that I have often been in myself, and advocating for people’s best interests.

Vicky has also received support from us while working at Henshaws. Richard, one of our Digital Enablement Officers, introduced her to apps and features on her Android phone so she can access information more easily. These include a magnifier app and the Google Lookout app.

Richard also introduced her to the Bee Network app. This has made travelling to work much easier and quicker for her, as the app suggests the best public transport routes for her to take, and she can track when public transport is arriving at the stops she needs. Thanks to the Bee Network app, she’s been able to reduce her journey time from 2 hours to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Vicky’s determination and impact

As you can see, Vicky’s life has been nothing short of varied. She’s always determined to take on new ventures and succeed in what she enjoys.

Her passion for sport and supporting others shines through in everything she does. Maybe reading this has given you the confidence and inspiration to try a new sport, or given you that determination to advocate for a cause you’re passionate about.

Vicky is an asset to Henshaws, and we’re very grateful for all her knowledge and experiences that she shares with everyone she comes across, be it colleagues or service users.

I’ve always said you don’t need to be able to see the world to participate in it, and I stand by that.

If you want to know even more about Vicky, you can access this article on About Manchester’s website, in which she talks about her love of sport, and her passion for helping and empowering others.