I am running the City of Manchester 10k race on 6th July 2008 to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and would be grateful of any sponsorship large or small.

I live on chips fast food and enjoy a glass of wine or two, and my only form of exercise is going to the pub. I have joined the gym and I'm determined to run this race and raise some money.

The reason I have chosen this charity is because my beautiful adorable granddaughter Alex was diagnosed with this disease when she was born April 2007. Alex has just recently celebrated her 1st Birthday and we had a BIG party for her (and us). Unfortunately Alex's condition means that she will always experience problems with her bowels, lungs and other organs.

Alex had to have an operation on her bowel when she was 1 day old to clear a blockage and she was in hospital for 3 weeks. Three months later she was rushed back into hospital and had to have another emergency operation where she spent a further 8 weeks fighting for her life (she had a 4 hr operation which resulted in her having to have 3 blood transfusions and other complications). 

In May for this year Alex spent another 10 days in hospital, and again in June another three days.

My beautiful daughter Emma and Son-in-law Steve help Alex to fight this disease by performing physio on her twice a day to help clear the thick, sticky mucus that gets clogged up in her body, she is also on medication that helps her digest her food and fight any infection/bug she is likely to catch. She will have to have physio and stay on medication for the rest of her life. Just after Alex celebrated her 1st birthday she was back in hospital with another infection, this time for ten days, so far to date Alex has spent 13 weeks in hospital due to this terrible condition. Emma and Steve have coped remarkable over the last twelve months and I am very proud of them.  We are all running the race together with other family members and friend’s

If you would like to take part in the run you can log on to: -www.manyharrier.co.uk  or contact  grahamjackson7@btinternet.com

There is currently no cure for CF and the average life expectancy for someone with CF is 31, but with the help of fundraising by the time Alex is that age hopefully the average life expectancy will be a lot older. When the CF Trust was founded in 1964 life expectancy was just 5 years old so you can see how much has changed in the last 44 years. So please dig deep and sponsor me (even just a pound would help).

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Cystic Fibrosis Trust will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

Many thanks for your support and a big thank you to family and friends who are also running the race. You can visit there web pages on www.justgiving.com/lesleyburke or www.justgiving.com/emmameyer

Thanks for visiting my fundraising page