Story
On the 12th of March 2014 my Grandad - and my hero - passed away. Derek Davies had suffered from Pulmonary Fibrosis. Pulmonary Fibrosis is scarring throughout the lungs. It can be caused by many reasons - one can be genetic, while another reason is being exposed to thick, organic dusts. This was the case in Derek's condition. He was a hard working Coal Miner for 25 years. Working in a hard, cramped environment to provide for his family was the reason he suffered in his later life. He did not smoke and was a healthy man -apart from this occurring in the past 2 years. Being from a generation that dealt with a situation like this with humour and toughness he was a happy man to the end. From his strength and humour I will try and raise as much money as I can for the British Lung Foundation, through many diffrent events, all carrying the burden of people with Pulmonary Fibosis. From children to adults there is no cure only 'Oxygen therapy' with an oxygen cylinder. At the end, the final stage is being hooked up to one of these cylinders 24 hours a day. Not being able to be free of a cylinder, they become the heavy burden when trying to carry on with daily life. I will try to take that burden for every event. My first event will be on the 18th of May running the Bupa Manchester 10k. I have also been
able to see that although I was mainly running for my granddad's memory I
am in fact running for everyone who has passed or that are fighting
IPF. So I decided to offer anyone the opportunity to write a name on a
tag and tie it to my pack with the oxygen cylinder in - that way they
will be running with me (and more than likely pushing me to the finish
line). Please donate.