Around 4 years ago our dad was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia, otherwise known as the suicide disease. He couldn't work or drive, eating drinking and going outside caused him severe pain. After many years, appointments and treatments he was referred to addenbrookes hospital in cambridge in November 2018 where he underwent a 6 hour operation to open his skull called microvascular decompression. He was discharged from there care in January 2019  after successfully moving a blood vessel in his brain into a cavity no longer rubbing on his trigeminal nerve. Before his diagnosis we knew nothing about trigeminal neuralgia so me, my three sisters and our mum have decided to do 12 different challenges, one every month to raise as much as we can to give something back after we got our dad back, our final challenge will be in December 2022 doing the Christmas day dip in the sea at felixstowe. Please give what you can to this amazing charity

Dad, your our hero, we love you, thank you 

Trigeminal neuralgia is sudden, severe facial pain. It's often described as a sharp shooting pain or like having an electric shock in the jaw, teeth or gums.

It usually happens in short, unpredictable attacks that can last from a few seconds to about 2 minutes. The attacks stop as suddenly as they start. 

In most cases, trigeminal neuralgia affects just one side of the face, with the pain usually felt in the lower part of the face. Very occasionally the pain can affect both sides of the face, although not usually at the same time.

People with the condition may experience attacks of pain regularly for days, weeks or months at a time. In severe cases attacks may happen hundreds of times a day.

It's possible for the pain to improve or even disappear altogether for several months or years at a time (remission), although these periods tend to get shorter with time.

Some people may then develop a more continuous aching, throbbing or burning sensation, sometimes accompanied by the sharp attacks.

Living with trigeminal neuralgia can be very difficult. It can have a significant impact on a person's quality of life, resulting in problems such as weight loss, isolation and depression.

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