My husband Ian was diagnosed with heart failure in 2019, after he was hospitalised with pneumonia and routine tests showed that he had an abnormal heart rhythm. After further tests, he was told he had something called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which is a disease of the heart muscle that makes it more difficult for the heart to pump blood around the body effectively.

Ian was referred for genetic testing to find out the cause of this, and we discovered he had a rare genetic illness called MELAS syndrome which is a type of Mitochondrial Disease. Mitochondrial diseases cause the cells in the body to not produce enough energy and over time this can cause damage to the major organs. 

There is currently no cure or effective treatment for Mitochondrial disease, available treatments are focussed on the relief of symptoms only. The money raised in Ian’s memory will help fund research projects that are looking to find a cure for what can be a devastating illness.