I am planning to run 2 marathons in eight days (Manchester Marathon 19/4/15 and London Marathon 26/4/15) to raise £10,000 for the North West Midlands Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Centre.  This money will be used to buy exercise equipment for the children and adults attending the centre.  I appreciate your generosity in supporting this worthy cause.

CF is an inherited life-shortening disease for which there is no cure.  It causes thick secretions throughout the body which result in recurrent chest infections and difficulty in absorbing food.  Patients have to take multiple medicines to help absorb their food and to prevent or treat chest infections.  Patients are also asked to perform daily chest physiotherapy to help clear their secretions, reducing the risk of infection.  Exercise plays an important part in management of CF.  As well as helping to clear secretions, it improves cardiovascular fitness and general wellbeing.

At the North West Midlands CF Centre we care for over 160 children and adults with CF.  We pride ourselves on having an excellent multi-disciplinary team and first class facilities.  One area that we know could be improved is the exercise facilities in the hospital.  Patients are often admitted to hospital for a number of weeks and at present it is difficult for them to exercise.  This is because patients with CF are unable to use the communal gym due to the risk of passing infections between each other and its distance from the CF wards.  We therefore want to purchase portable exercise equipment that could be used by patients in their rooms.  For older children and adults we will purchase exercise bikes / rowing machines and for younger children we will buy entertainment units each containing a Wii Fit console, balance board and mat.  We are hoping to raise at least £10,000 to cover these costs.