Mark Lawson
St George's day 2020. No... 2021. No wait, definitely 2022.
Fundraising for The Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust
Story
I opened this page in 2020 in anticipation of yet another fantastic St George's day dinner & sing-song ding-dong at the Shozna, held in memory of my old friend Bob Wade, with whom I started all this lovely nonsense 20 odd years ago.
The 2020 event was to be held in aid of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust. My friend Nick had the condition and he wrote a few words at the time which I've copied below.
Nick was of course looking forward to the big day but as you know, because of Covid-19, our annual St George's day dinner never took place in 2020 - neither were we able to celebrate in 2021. Although the event will at last be going ahead this year, sadly, Nick won't be joining us. The fibrosis finally got the better of him and he died last October.
Please read what Nick had to say, and if you can leave a few quid here, or join us on the night (or both), I'd be very grateful.
Chin chin x
My name is Nick Bowler
3 years ago I was diagnosed with Lung Fibrosis.
Once I understood what it was it was a huge shock. The three years since have been a rollercoaster of emotions. My family and friends have been amazing. I went from being quite physically active to not being able to do stuff I was used to doing all the time. It took me two years to accept what was going on. I am now on oxygen for exercise and when I go to the gym. I am also on a lot of meds although not as many as some other patients.
The two questions I get asked the most are:
Have you got COPD and did you smoke. The answer to both questions is no.
Lung Fibrosis is a nasty, incurable disease. My long term hope is a lung transplant. It affects around 5 million people worldwide. To put that in perspective asthma affects 300 million worldwide.
There are around 200 different versions of Fibrosis. Mine is likely genetic.
I am humbled every day by everybody helping me. Consultants, Doctors, Nurses, my Osteopath. The Royal Brompton and Kings College Hospitals. The brilliant Facebook Support Group.
Action For Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust are doing brilliant research.
I would like to raise money for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust who provide practical, emotional and financial support where there is a need.
Please support this brilliant trust.
My mission is to educate people and help them understand what Fibrosis is. Whilst that helps me it is also about making a difference to everyone who has this disease.
I still work full time. Not everyone is so fortunate. Some become housebound and deteriorate very quickly.
Let's fight to beat this disease.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.