Hi folks,

I'm going to attempt running my first ever marathon distance to raise funds for a young man by the name of Sean O'Brien. His story is below. I heard about his situation on the BBC1 10 O'Clock News the other night.

The BBC News clip is on YouTube here

A MESSAGE FROM SEAN:

"My name is Sean O'Brien, I'm 35 years old and trying my best to save my life so I can live the life that all young people should be able to, but most importantly I want to be able to watch my newborn son grow up. I dream of being able to take him to his first QPR match. No, this isn’t a form of child abuse!

I was self employed before my diagnosis and haven't been able to work since. Not working has allowed me to concentrate fully on my diagnosis for over 4 years now doing extensive treatments.

All of this fighting has enabled me to smash the primary cancer to pieces and my bowel is now clear, however the liver metastases are still hanging around. What they haven't counted on is the fact that I am also extremely stubborn and am determined to continue to tackle this horrible disease head on. I now also have the added motivation of my son.

The NHS are amazing - they have kept me alive this far. However my options on the NHS are running out. This, tied in with the fact that they are extremely stretched at the moment with Covid-19, it seems that cancer patients are finding it increasingly hard to get additional support and access to new treatments. Clinical trials especially.

I'm down to my last available chemo on the NHS (Lonsurf) so I'm incredibly grateful to Jimmy for offering to help my family as I will very much likely have to fund an immunotherapy off-script in the near future. These generally cost around £5k per month, without a compassion scheme. Sometimes a lot more.

Any help that I can put towards keeping my options open would be much appreciated and my family and I will be forever in your debt.

Sean, Caroline & Max"

A further note from me (Jimmy):

The start of the Covid lockdown coincided with me deciding to finally go for a marathon distance attempt. Being a type 1 diabetic, and now aged nearer 60 years old to 50, I've found the idea of running 26.2 miles just a little bit daunting. However, after a few weeks of (solo & socially distant) training, I'm going for it on Sunday 7th June. From initial plans of doing this solely for a personal challenge, then thoughts of raising money for the NHS, or Diabetes UK, the BBC News item diverted my focus to a fellow QPR fan. Please help me to hit my fundraising target, to support Sean and his new family unit. One day I hope to actually meet them!

By the way, I'd like to track how many different football clubs (professional or non-league) are represented from donors. It would be great to have clubs mentioned from leagues across the UK and further afield! Please therefore STATE YOUR FAVOURITE OR LOCAL CLUB WHEN YOU DONATE, even if you stay anonymous.

I will post my run on Strava, and any photos that my family are able to take on the day.

Stay safe all, especially if you're taking a trip to Durham!

Jimmy