15 weeks and counting......

It 15weeks to the Virgin London Marathon, one of the greatest sporting events in the World.  An event that seems to capture the hearts, minds and bodies of the UK.  While it may not be my first marathon (that's was Edinburgh 2008) it is my first London Marathon.  I said many years ago that I would not do any more charity runs except (I) A marathon in my 50th year and somewhere a bit different, or (II) London - well it is London, and this year, on my 49th birthday (so very close to the 50 lol).

Why run for the this charity?  This is a very personal thing for myself and my daughter.  My wife suffered from this illness some16yrs ago, yes at the time she was pregnant.  So a time that should have been great joy was a time of stress and worry for very different reasons.  Celia's mental behaviour at that time altered, became strange, reasoning and logic went out of the window.  A lot of this was put down to stress being 36weeks pregnant.  After some assessments, I was told it wasn't a mental issue and would be referred to a neurologist, but until the baby was born, they couldn't do a lot.  Anyway, Zoe appeared a few days later and after a period of rest under went test inc a MRI.  I was told that there was a shadow on her frontal lobe, but it didn't look like a tumour.  More rest, more test and then she was referred to the specialist neurological unit in the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham who concluded the same, but they also did a biopsy and it was only at this point was I told that she was suffering from encephalitis and would be discharged in a few days!!

A couple of years later as I balanced various issues, I finally found a charity that offered some support.  I booked and attended a conference/meeting session in York (chance to get away as well to a beautiful city) and it while at this meeting that I met/saw the full scale of encephalitis and the aftermath it plays.  At this small meeting I saw that we weren't clearly not the only family who have suffered from this illness and luckily met one of the speakers who explained in 2mins, more about my wifes potential issues than any Doctor or psychologist had in the previous 2 years. In many ways presented a great relief to myself.

This is only a brief and small into why this charity has helped me, and why I wish to help them.  I will add more incoming weeks about our we suffered, how the charity helped (esp Ava) and what they do.

Please, if you can donate, do so here: Fundraising Page
Charity Page