It has long since been a dream of mine to run the London Marathon, so, at the age of 45 & after a significant injury, I decided to take up running & finally have a go at it.

I knew that I had to make this (probably once in a lifetime experience) as worthwhile as possible so, as an orthopaedic nurse with a personal history of fragility fractures, the National Osteoporosis Society was my obvious choice as the charity to raise funds for.

This is very important to me personally & professionally.  With a family member who suffered from the condition & a longstanding orthopaedic career, most recently caring for those with hip fractures, I have seen first-hand the pain & life changing effects that osteoporosis can bring.

Osteoporosis is a disease characterised by low bone mass & structural deterioration of bone tissue, with a consequent increase in bone fragility & susceptibility to fracture.  

1 in 2 women & 1 in 5 men, over the age of 50, will break a bone, mainly because of poor bone health.

It affects an estimated three million people in the U.K.

Osteoporosis leads to nearly 9 million fractures annually worldwide & over 500,000 patients present with fragility fractures to hospitals in the UK each year.  The injuries are painful, debilitating & sometimes fatal & most commonly involve the wrist, hip & spine.

Direct medical costs from fragility fractures to the UK healthcare economy were estimated at £1.8 billion in 2000, with the potential to increase to £2.2 billion by 2025, & with most of these costs relating to hip fracture care.  For older people hip fracture is the commonest cause of accidental death.

The National Osteoporosis Society is the only UK-wide charity dedicated to improving the prevention, diagnosis & treatment of osteoporosis & fragility fractures.  The charity offers free support & information to people affected by the condition, including a help-line that receives more than 13,000 enquiries per year.

It is so very important that we support the charity & allow it to continue its very valuable work.

I will be completing the marathon for my fundraising target of £1700, in all likelihood I will not run all the way but I will give it a very good go!

I am grateful for any contribution that can help me to reach this figure & give me the encouragement I need.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.