Story
In January of this year, during the third UK lockdown, I decided to challenge myself to virtually walk the almost 1100 miles from Lands' End, England to John O'Groats in Scotland. As of the 23rd of June, I reached the halfway mark of my challenge, hitting the 600th mile during my Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) Gold Practice Expedition. I have taken on this SRUK Walk challenge in an effort to raise money to help find a cure for Scleroderma. This is a very personal issue for me as my mother was diagnosed with this rare disease.
Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease that sees the body attack its own connective tissues; the condition causes scarring and hard thickening areas of tissue. Most cases of scleroderma only affect the skin, but more aggressive forms, such as systemic scleroderma, have been found to harm internal organs, blood vessels, muscles, and joints. It can also cause joints to be increasingly stiff, swollen and sore.
There is currently no cure for Scleroderma. The money raised by my long walk will be used to help fund research, support patients, raise awareness and ultimately find a cure for this disease. Please consider making a donation.
Thank you,
Xandro