14th July - 20:00 - Thank You!

Dear friends

At the time of writing this note, we will have raised £3,678.00 on behalf of the Parachute Regiment Charity and the Endowment & Welfare funds at Southern General Hospital. If you add to this the Gift Aid supplement this is a huge success and I am personally very grateful for your support in achieving this.

As you will be aware, the reason for raising this money is that my father, Anthony Macdonald, is currently receiving treatment at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow and has received excellent support from the Oncology, Cardiology & General Surgery teams there. He has also had some brilliant advice and practical assistance from SSAFA and the Airborne Forces community.

The reason for running the Kuala Lumpur marathon needs a little bit of explanation. When my father first went into hospital, he had a suspected heart problem but expected to be up and running fairly quickly. He made a commitment to the staff at the hospital that when he got out he would run a marathon to raise money for them. When I arrived from Malaysia and we found out things were not as straight forward as originally hoped and that it wasn’t so certain that my father would be running any marathons in the near future, I offered to run one on his behalf. I got an entry into the Kuala Lumpur marathon, where we lived at the time, and thought I would see how much we could raise.

Running 42 kilometers in 90 degrees of heat and similar levels of humidity was a challenge but with such a great role model to look up to it wasn’t difficult to stay motivated. To say Dad was over the moon is an understatement – having served in Malaya in the 1950’s and 1960’s he knew what the tropics can throw at you in terms of discomfort. I can honestly say that the fact we did the marathon in Malaysia, and raised so much money for the causes that have had the greatest impact on his treatment so far, has been hugely positive for him.

Right now we are waiting to get a start date for chemotherapy so there is a long road ahead and it isn’t going to be easy, but the number of people who continue to come and visit the hospital is an ongoing boost to his spirits. So if you find yourself in Glasgow do drop into Ward 22 or give him a bell on 07809 150534 – he would love to hear from you.

Many thanks again for your support.

Yours aye.

Ali

 

26th June - 21:00  - THAT'S IT - SEVERAL POUNDS LIGHTER AND IN NEED OF PLENTY OF TALC - THAT'S THE KUALA LUMPUR MARATHON 2011 COMPLETE. 5 DAYS OF PREP, 5HRS 7 MINUTES AND £2,742 PLUS £473 OF GIFT AID RAISED ON THE WAY.

STILL TIME FOR A FINAL DONATION - THE ACCOUNT WILL BE OPEN FOR ANOTHER FEW WEEKS.

 

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL THE SUPPORT.

 

25th June - 22:00 - THE TRAINING IS OVER - RACE STARTS IN 7 HOURS.

THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED. I KNOW THERE IS AT LEAST 1 EVENT GOING ON IN LONDON TONIGHT THAT WILL HELP US HIT THE TARGET AND HOPEFULLY SOME MORE SPONSORSHIP WILL COME IN OVERNIGHT.

YOU CAN FOLLOW THE PAINFUL PROGRESS DURING THE RACE ON TWITTER @alphamike @paracharity. FACEBOOK and NIKEPLUS @alpha21mike

21st June - 15:00 - In 5 days I will be running 42 kilometres, in 90 degrees of heat, and 90% humidity in the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon. I hadnt intended to do it for charity but events at home in Scotland have changed that. My father, Anthony Macdonald, has just been diagnosed with cancer and some fantastic people have stepped in to help him with his fight against the disease and he has asked that I raise as much as I can for them and the work they do for people like him.

Firstly, Mr David Wright and Dr John Byrne, and the rest of the general surgery and cardiology team at the Southern General Hospital have moved really quickly to get the right diagnosis and treatment lined up and have been wonderfully supportive and caring. The Ward 22 Endowment & Southern General Welfare Funds are always in need of additional funds to make patients time in hospital more comfortable and homely. 

Secondly, Stephen Cooper and Craig Treeby from the Parachute Regiment Charity have stepped in and mobilised resources to provide support for Dad. He served with No 1 Guards Independent Parachute Company when we was with the Scots Guards in the 50's and 60's and it has been fantastic how the Airborne family have stepped in to help all these years later.

As we are doing this at very short notice I have agreed with director of the Parachute Regiment Charity that whilst all donations will be made to them, the funds will be distributed evenly across the two organisations. If you do want to make a donation to a specific charity make a note in the donation and we will make that happen.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer.

I know we are all asked more and more for donations to various charitable causes and I dont make a habit of asking but as you can probably guess this is a special cause and any contribution is gratefully received.

Please follow this link to make a donation http://justgiving.com/alphamike  

Alasdair Macdonald