Dan Jeffries – Me, Myself and Eye

Weekly, our Sixth Form students participate in a general studies session featuring inspiring speakers.

This week, Old Elizabethan Dan Jeffries, author, and public speaker, shared his remarkable journey living with a rare medical condition, Wyburn Mason Syndrome. Diagnosed accidentally during a routine optician’s appointment at age 4, Dan became fully blind in his left eye by the age of 10. Wyburn-Mason Syndrome affects around 1 in 50 million people.

Dan joined QEH as a boarder in 1988. As it is now, at that time QEH was well known for rugby, Dan was advised against playing due to his condition. However, Dan immersed himself in badminton, theatre productions, and music during his time at QEH. He also prompted the school to arrange for him to study theatre studies A-level, which he did at Clifton High School. After leaving QEH, the school introduced both GCSE and A-Level Drama into the curriculum, a legacy Dan is particularly proud of. Dan then went on to study drama and theatre at the University of Kent, Canterbury.

During his twenties, Dan started to notice that something wasn’t quite right. His body and face were changing. Friends didn’t recognise him, and he would get strange visual spikes. It was purely by chance during an OSCE (final year exam for medical students) that he was diagnosed with Acromegaly, a rare condition caused by the growth of a benign tumour in the pituitary gland.

Inspired by the encouragement of friends and family, Dan embarked on a two-and-a-half-year journey to document his experiences in his book ‘Me, Myself and Eye,’ published in 2015. He successfully raised £5000 to publish the book, promoting it extensively through social media, TV, press, and radio channels.

Dan’s advocacy for The Pituitary Foundation, social media content creation, and engaging talks at a variety of events showcase his commitment to raising awareness. Alongside this, Dan is also a music producer and DJ, writing under the names [sic] and Rate & Follow, spurred on by his passion for music developed at QEH. Dan is also the Head of Digital Learning for Improve International, who specialise in training courses for vets and vet nurses.

During his speech to our Sixth Form students, Dan shared excerpts from his book, providing a unique perspective on living with rare conditions and imparting valuable lessons. The pupils found his talk both entertaining and educational, concluding with Dan’s three mantras: ‘Embrace the now, Use your voice, and Shape your future’.

To learn more about Dan and his book please follow these links:

www.memyselfandeye.co.uk

hello.danj.uk