My lovely friend Tony Hopper was diagnosed with bulbar onset Motor Neurone Disease earlier this year, at the age of just 40 years old. Bulbar MND is a life limiting illness with an average prognosis of 2-3 years from onset of symptoms. Tony has had symptoms since May 2016. The diagnosis has come as a huge shock to everyone.

Tony is the most loving husband to Sue, and proud daddy to three beautiful (and boisterous ) boys aged 4, 7 and 9 years old. He's also one of the best friends anyone could ask for.

Tony is well known in football circles as he was a professional footballer playing for Carlisle United from 1992- 2002 and then Workington Reds 2002- 2012.

This time last year I was training for the Manchester marathon at the same time that Tony was, little did we know that a year on we'd be hearing this devastating news. So I'm heading off to Manchester again (solo this time) to run with Tony in my mind all 26.2 miles of it.

The MNDA do fantastic work supporting families and those close to them at these very difficult times and through this fight back fund I hope to raise lots of money so that they can continue to support Sue and Tony and lots of other families in need.

There is also a gofundme page set up to raise money directly for Tony to help raise enough money to fill the next two years with enough memories to last a lifetime for Sue and the boys which you can find here: https://www.gofundme.com/creating-hoppy-memories 

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.

Thank you so much for your support,

Kate x