A DALE musician has organised charity gig to raise funds for the eye hospital that treated him as a teen.
Sam Nixon, from Romaldkirk, was just 14 when specialists at the Sunderland Eye Infirmary helped save his eye after his retina detached following trauma to the head.
To show his gratitude, the 20-year-old has organised a fundraising gig next month at the village’s Reading Rooms with proceeds going to the hospital.
Mr Nixon said: “With everything with Covid-19 the whole NHS needs to be thanked, but I thought if I was going to raise money for the NHS, I wanted it to be something that really means something to me.
“You can take your eyesight for granted and it’s not until you need them you realise how important the infirmary is and I wanted to say how amazing they were.
“I got kicked in the head when I was 14 and it caused my retina to detach in my right eye, but we didn’t know it at the time. It was only during a routine eye test it was spotted and I was sent to Sunderland Eye Infirmary.
“I was seen straight away and they were absolutely amazing. Within a month they had operated and saved the eye. They weren’t able to save the sight as it had been some time since the detachment, but I was so well supported by them and have not looked back since.”
The intimate acoustic evening planned for Friday, August 6, will see Mr Nixon performing his own Americana and folk-inspired numbers with support from the hugely popular folk group The Old Age Travellers, comprising John Stokeld, Malcolm Elsbury and Mike Ninham.
There is limited capacity for the event with tickets capped at 60 but there will be a bar and Covid restrictions will be in place. Tickets cost £5 and proceeds go to the Sunderland Eye Infirmary. Doors open at 7pm with the performance starting at 7.30pm.
To order tickets contact Mr Nixon by email on samnixonmusic@gmail.com
