LIKE many other men in their 20s, Ryan Compton is committed to living life to the full. He is enthusiastic about life, loves his work, has just set up his own business, is keen to expand his knowledge and skills and works as a volunteer for the Samaritans in his spare time.

But unlike most other men of the same age, Ryan, who lives in Warndon, Worcester, is registered blind and at one stage was considered to have the most complex case of glaucoma in the country.

In fact he has four eye conditions but the most serious is glaucoma and when he was diagnosed at the age of six, the problem was so severe that he had an operation to relieve the pressure in his eyes that day.

Glaucoma is a condition which affects sight - usually by a build-up of pressure when the fluid inside the eye cannot drain properly. This can damage the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain, and the nerve fibres from the retina - the light-sensitive nerve tissue that lines the back of the eye.

Ryan, who grew up in Manchester, said his sight was checked when he was three and he had 20/20 vision but in the next few years he became aware he had an eye condition but did not know to tell anyone – he was too frightened.

It was not until he completely lost the sight in one eye that he told his grandma and he was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with glaucoma.

Over the years, this likeable young man has undergone around 60 operations to try and save his eyesight - at the age of 21 he was registered blind. “The worst period was when I had three operations in eight days” he said.

Ryan’s primary and secondary education suffered constant disruptions due to the surgery and while he did catch up a lot when he attended a specialist school for children with visual impairments, he didn’t reach the standards of others in his age group.

“I caught up a lot in that year but I was not on a par with others my age. I was still three or four years behind. I went to another school with a specialist department for people with visual impairments and my education standard did rise.”

But while Ryan did six GCSEs – achieving low grade passes in most – other youngsters were doing 12 subjects. At the age of 17 Ryan was also registered as dyslexic.

Although his progress in the education system was badly affected by his sight and the treatments, he started to develop his communication skills. “I started asking a lot of questions about my condition and the treatments. I was having conversations that an adult would be having. I became a problem solver and decision maker.”

While many people might have struggled to cope with all these obstacles, Ryan’s attitude was to get on with the issue or treatment in front of him and then get back to his life.

This bright, intelligent and articulate man, together with his mum, moved to Worcester about 10 years ago to give him easier access to the Birmingham Midlands Eye Centre and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He also went to the Royal National College for the Blind at Hereford.

During his three years there, one of the tutors thought Ryan would be good as a volunteer for the Samaritans so he went along and, aged 24, became the youngest male Samaritan working there.

Doors were beginning to open in Ryan’s life and he decided to take an A level in Health and Social Care and, while at Hereford, he got involved with the Young Enterprise scheme.

As the person in his group with the most vision, Ryan was the managing director. His group was competing against people with full sight and the won the Herefordshire round of Young Enterprise – the first time a team from the college had got through to the next round in 10 years.

“We won the best visual presentation which I thought was hilarious,” said Ryan. The whole experience was helping to build Ryan’s confidence and he now has training in mediation, mentoring and guidance, counselling skills, coaching, disability awareness, safe guarding, drugs and alcohol awareness and equality and diversity.

But getting a job as a blind person was not easy so Ryan started working on a freelance basis offering his skills as a mentor, mediator, life coach, counsellor and advocate.

Now he has just set up his own business called the Centre for Resolution, which he runs from his home in Warndon. Using the latest technology which enables him to send and receive e-mails, text messages, letters and tweets, he is able to communicate like any sighted person.

Building up his skills in mediation, coaching, mentoring and advocacy through volunteering, training and working for other organisations, Ryan decided he wanted to offer a range of services that were client led and created Centre for Resolution. To find out more visit http://www.centreforresolution.com/

He is passionate about helping people. “The ultimate aim is to help people realise the potential to the fullest. The Centre for Resolution is pulling all the things I do together and putting them under one roof and growing it.”

He said everything he does is tailor-made to the individual client so they get exactly what they need. Apart from working with individual clients, Ryan also gives talks and presentations at national conferences and has also recently been involved in a piece of research.

“I want to experience life. When you are disabled people often say ‘Why don’t you volunteer?’ But I wanted to do something. Volunteering has its place but there are some jobs you have to pay for. Unemployment generally is falling but, for people with visual impairments, it has risen from 68 per cent to 73 per cent.

“If someone has not got any self-worth there are knock on effects like depression and that has a cost to the NHS. Sometimes you have to put a bit in to get a lot out. It is very satisfying when you pick someone up from being down and they end up feeling good.”

Ryan said as a blind person he finds Worcester a good place to live because the pace of life is slower than places like Manchester.

“You can be more independent here because things do not move as quickly. I like the tempo of Worcester,” said Ryan.